Theory of War
by TheWestDriver
Summary: They are liars, all of them, and Iroh is too old to play matchmaker. Zukaang. Katoph. Mailee. Sukka.
1. Prologue: Advisor

A/N: I don't own anything Avatar, but fanfiction lets me pretend that I do.

This fic is mostly introspective angsting from the major characters and features Zukaang, Katoph, Sukka, and Mailee love. It also mentions all of the canon pairs from the show. Please review, even if this is only the prologue. Enjoy!

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**Prologue: Advisor **

The palace is a peaceful place under his nephew's rule, full of celebrations, festivals, and feasts. They hold forum meetings, often led by the Fire Lady herself, to pass new laws that uphold the will of the public. The Avatar offers his spiritual guidance to those seeking his youthful wisdom, and his blessings are a bounty on the land.

New bending schools are becoming populous in the Fire Nation, mostly because of the Master of the Southern Water Tribe, who welcomes any person dedicated to learning. The Kyoshi Warriors even arrive occasionally to recruit and perform for the people at the heavy persuading of their only Fire Nation member. New trade routes protected by the Blind Bandit herself run daily from the Capital to Omashu and Ba Sing Se.

In the peacetime, it seems that the public has also taken to making celebrities out of war heroes. The Wolf-Blade saunters around the grounds, teaching and planning, and sweeps his lovely wife into his arms with a kiss. The audience cheers and Kyoshi's Pride blushes and everyone laughs uproariously at his daring antics.

Iroh is not fooled.

He waits for the quiet moments during the day, hoping to catch his brood of children, for they have all become his own, at their lowest. When no one holds them on a pedestal, and they have no citizen to impress, and no victim to save they cannot hide what they feel.

Iroh sees them all in turn at one point or another.

Zuko has perfected the sad, weak smile of which his mother was so fond. He looks like a tethered pantherbear that has resigned his life to a cage. His nation is coming together, not without hitches of course, and even the people of his former enemies respect the amity he has sown among them. His world is finally returning to health, but Zuko feels every day is full of his own turmoil and only finds peace in the company of the Avatar.

Iroh sits him down and they plan the opening of a new historical library over tea.

Mai looks more severe than ever, having lost her dark girlish charms many years before. She is working hard to help Zuko, and visit the nations, and pass legislation in the strange new democracy the Fire Nation adopted two years ago. She uses her influential voice to sway the votes and overpower her adversaries, no longer relying on her sharp daggers. But Iroh sees the chink in her armor every time he mentions the island of Kyoshi.

They meet for lunch one sunny afternoon to discuss her pending legislation.

Aang's innocence disappeared the first time a man died for him, and his vision of love became skewed after his proposal. He plays with his gilded ring when he is nervous or when he finds no warmth from his dark-skinned fiancée. He travels the world far too often, perhaps trying to avoid his own problems by fixing everything else. Sometimes, when he thinks no one is around, he sits outside of Zuko's throne room and meditates.

Iroh goes for a ride on Appa, pointing out the finest fishing spots in his country to Aang.

Katara has dark shadows beneath her eyes that stand in stark contrast to her noble dress. Once, and only once, Iroh found her weeping outside, tucked between firelily bushes. The coal black eye makeup dripped down her face like tar, so she bent it to the ground and left without a word to him. He watched her return to the palace, brushing the dirt from her blue clothing, and raising her head as if she walked proudly to her death sentence.

Iroh visits her school, displaying the offensive strikes of Firebending for a fun lesson.

Ty Lee smiles just as frequently, but her tinkling laugh is nothing but a hollow echo from her childhood. She has become a warrior, not a flying acrobat, and every aspect of her personality reflects her new profession. She is not the leader of the women of Kyoshi, but is certainly respected among them, and they frequently allow her to make political visits to the Capital on their behalf. She is always willing to work with the Fire Lady.

Iroh takes her to a musical performance where they enjoy the Tsungi horn together.

Toph, although Iroh feels he rarely gets to see her, is too thin for her sturdy frame, and she slouches more than ever under the weight of her employment. Even Bumi has contacted Iroh and they both think something is wrong with their young Earthbender. He notices the way her eyebrows come together in suffering when Aang takes Katara's hand, and how she lifts her feet from the ground when they talk about the wedding.

Iroh watches her demonstrate her refined metalbending, clapping with fervor at her finish.

Sokka is becoming the younger version of his father. He wears a weathered face and scarred hands with a half-grin. His happiness disappears when he looks at his companions, especially his little sister, and Iroh believes that Sokka must ache to know she is unhappy. He finds the Southern Water Tribe warrior glaring into the distance, curling his lip in a most wolfish snarl. Sokka does not know what he should be fighting.

They paint an abstract landscape together, amused by the bright colors they choose.

Suki maintains her cool, gently prodding at her friends with questioning words and glances. She whispers to her husband that things will have to be all right in the end because they simply _must_, but her talking amounts to nothing when everything falls apart. Still, Iroh respects how earnestly she tries to hold them together, becoming like a healer instead of a fighter.

Iroh tries to learn her fan form for entertainment before giving up with a laugh.

Picturing the faces of these central political figures has become a sobering experience for Fire Prince Iroh. They are simply too young to have such broken stories so he is trying to subtly sew them back together, but every second he spends with one makes the day unravel for another. They tear each other apart and Iroh wants to give them so much more than his words. He wants to soothe their straining minds and bodies, or wrangle them into a room and throw all of their insecurities in their face. Iroh wants to shout, "Love the one you love!" and have them pair off the way they want to be paired. His children are trying to do right by everyone else, thinking that their lives will fall in place by default. They are wrong.

It kills him to see them hurting.

It kills him to see the war in their hearts.

He leans back in his plush red chair, folding up the map before him. Iroh knows he will get no more work done tonight when his thoughts are as scrambled as his childrens' love lives. He sighs deeply, praying that at least one of them will heed his unspoken advice. Iroh is getting too old to play matchmaker.

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	2. Homefront

A/N: Review if you like it.

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**Homefront **

Among one of Toph's gifts is the ability to know when people are watching her. She has trained herself to feel even the smallest shifts of people on steady ground, even down to the blinks of enemies and shifting eyes of admirers. Though she is daydreaming of soft skin and graceful movements, she can feel the strange sensation that someone is studying her. Toph cracks her knuckles in annoyance, not wanting to be torn from her contemplations of her favorite Waterbender.

She knows that Bumi peeks out of the corner of his eyes, although his head is bowed as if he is reading, when he asks, "Wouldn't you like to take a break from all this political mumbo-jumbo and go see some old friends? Catch up with Aang?"

Her thoughts vanish at the name of her old friend, but playing it off as a simple question, Toph snickers, "I see Twinkletoes on a regular basis. He's always flying around the Earth Kingdom."

"Ah, so he is," Bumi concedes. "Perhaps Katara, then? I'm sure she'd love to see you."

She peels her face into a fake grin, "She's busy with her school. And her wedding planning. I'll see her after that. Her wedding, I mean." Toph taps her stubby nail on the oak table, unable to control her twitching fingers.

Bumi watches her in silence for a moment longer.

"It's not set yet, is it?"

Her voice catches, "Not yet. But we all know it's coming, right?" She laughs, "They've been engaged for so long, even I can see it."

He pauses again as he sets down his crinkled scroll.

"Katara will want to see you before that," he states in his wise and creaky voice, and then King Bumi of Omashu orders his youngest ambassador to take a long reprieve from her job, sending her home to her parents.

So Toph stands in her dining room in Gaoling, facing her father, noticing she is almost his height now. Around her family, the most bothersome of her gifts is detecting the lies of others- although it is perhaps her most important power, aside from Earthbending, that has sustained her for so long.

"You look well," her father lies as he surveys her appearance. Toph's lips twitch imperceptibly. "I'll be back for dinner," he says. He kisses her on the forehead and her mother sweeps into the room, still wearing the heavy robes that Toph has always loathed.

Her mother is not a blunt woman and her manner of asking about her daughter's health is diluted and roundabout, but Toph knows what to expect from the meeting.

"Darling, sit and tell me about your work. It's been so long since you've been home. Shall I pour you some tea?"

Toph nods. "No sugar, please."

"Are you home for rest, darling?"

Resting is not a gift that Toph usually allows, not of herself at work, not of her students in the academy, not of her subordinates on missions. But her mother's suggestion seems so logical right now that she doesn't even bother to push it away.

"I think I'll go to the Fire Nation for a little while. Just to see the old crew."

"Well that's lovely," says her mother. "Avatar Aang would certainly escort you there."

"The walk will do me good," Toph hastily replies.

Poppy Bei Fong nods, and her daughter knows that she is aware of her odd behavior. Her nervousness is controlling her heart rate and making her a bad liar. She curses into her steaming tea.

"You can help Lady Katara plan the wedding."

Toph bites the edge of her fragile teacup, threatening to crack the lip of it. Her mother's brown eyes flick up to her face, sending vibrations that reveal her motions. Toph says forcefully, "Weddings aren't my thing."

"Has one of your friends wronged you, darling?" Poppy baits her.

"No," she grunts.

"Are you against the marriage of Lady Katara and Avatar Aang?"

She pauses, hesitating in a way that is so unlike her, before she says, "No." The last thing she wants is for her mother to think she's fallen for the Avatar boy from her childhood.

The teacup is placed on the table with a dainty clink, "You're in love with her."

Toph stands corrected. _This _is the last thing she wants.

She snorts tea in her cup and retorts back, practically shouting, "No I'm not! You're being stupid, mom!"

"It's not a crime to be in love, but there are other things to consider."

Toph drags her chair back and rises to leave. She doesn't need the verbal explosion that must be coming. She fights enough battles during the day, and hopes to end this one before it begins.

"There's nothing to consider, mother! I don't know where you got this idea. You don't even know me anymore! I haven't seen Katara in almost a year, and you think I have a crush on another woman because I don't want her to get married? Is that it? And even if I am- and I'm not saying that I am- in love, who are you to stop me?" Toph's black bangs shadow her eyes as she stands before her mother.

Poppy does not articulate on the many reasons that Toph should not preoccupy herself with Katara. She does not eloquently explain how inappropriate the relationship would be, counting out the list of responsibilities and duties that both women now have. She does not parade Toph's devious sexual nature in front of her face.

"But, darling," Poppy simply says, "She's taken," and drinks another sip of her tea.

In those two words Toph is completely destroyed by her mother.

Two days later, feeling much less like the Earthbending hero that she is, Toph awkwardly shoulders the leather bag that contains her clothing. She stands outside of her home waiting for the happy roar that will signal Appa and Aang's arrival. She digs her toes in the dirt and wishes very much to be hiding in a deep cave somewhere, far away from the incoming Avatar, even though she has no reason to fear her friend.

"Toph!" he calls out from above her. She can practically see his wide smile.

"Hey, Baldy," she yells back. They embrace like they haven't been apart for more than an hour, and Toph feels like an unknown weight has been lifted from her strong shoulders. "How's Bumi?" Aang asks her.

"Still crazy as ever. And pretty busy; you know how he likes to fight off the rebels himself. He never lets me have any fun."

"Sounds like good old Bumi," he chuckles in his deeper voice. "I'll have to see him when I bring you back."

He helps her board Appa, tossing her bag in the saddle with a thump, and he says quickly, "Katara will be glad to see you. We're very excited for the wedding."

Toph's body contracts for two reasons.

The first was that he mentioned the name of someone she was slightly frightened to be near. The second and more important reason was that Aang lied. His pulse fluctuated when he spoke the word "wedding" and it was strong enough for Toph to feel through Appa's wooden saddle.

He tugs lightly at what Toph assumes is a ring on his left hand, and the pale-skinned girl clenches her teeth together. She asks in her sharp tones, "How's Zuko?"

His heartbeat races and he stops twirling the ring, "He's doing well, but he probably needs a vacation, too." She realizes with mixed feelings that she has pinpointed the cause of his lies.

So they return to the Fire Nation, causally passing the time with idle conversations and good memories. Toph finds herself wishing that she did not daydream about the Avatar's fiancée so much, but thinks that Zuko must be haunting Aang's dreams just as frequently based on his body's changes at the mention of the Fire Lord's name. She should feel relief that Aang wants another for his bed, but she is mostly sad. She is terribly pained that Katara might feel betrayed or unloved by her arrow-marked boy.

Leaning against her bag, Toph decides she hates knowing so many secrets.

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	3. Blitzkrieg

A/N: Give me a review! I need some good feedback for this chapter because I think Aang is hard to write. :)

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**Blitzkrieg**

Aang is not a drinking man, but the farmers of the Earth Kingdom have found a new way to cultivate some plant, wheat perhaps, into a yellow brew that he keeps in his supplies. It tastes less sweet than the customary wine of the palace, which has always suited the Avatar, and he finds that he can unwind for just a few moments with a goblet of the new bitter drink. The distaste for it allows him to stay focused.

So he sits in a tree, far from the Capital City, and permits himself a minute of respite.

Below him, Appa grazes in the long grass, snuffling when a bug settles on his nose. Aang allows a ghost of a smile to cross his features, but the happiness passes when he tilts his arrowed head to the sky.

He feels very alone.

It's not as if he doesn't have help, he mentally chides himself. Zuko bears the weight of the world on his shoulders, Toph works non-stop to keep the nations' trade flowing smoothly, Mai sacrifices her own reputation to defend him in the Senate, and Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee do nothing if not try to make his life easier. But there is still one person that makes him press his head against the rough bark of his tree in frustration.

His fiancé leaks sorrow like a water barrel with an arrow wound, and Aang is beginning to think that he is the source of her grief. Returning from trips and outlining half-hearted treaties and dangerous encounters and hateful words and angry glares, Aang listens to her trying to put his heart at ease, but the peaceful sensation never comes. Therapy from a dying man is not therapy at all.

He breathes deeply, inhaling the scent of the wood and leaves that he cannot smell when he is flying so high up. Now that he is older he understands why so many people support his marriage, and why so many people are just thrilled that he might become a proud father. Little whispers have even survived in the courts against Zuko's constant reprimands that Aang should create a little harem of young women that suit his fancy. He is the last Airbender, after all, and the girls would be willing enough. Why shouldn't he repopulate for the sake of the balance of the world?

Maybe no one considers the idea that Aang doesn't want children at all. Why would he knowingly cast such a burden onto a child? _You _and only _you_ are the last hope of an entire nation, so be safe and procreate and save these people, unique Airbending infant of mine.

He would not wish that fate on his enemies, much less his own kin.

Save the world, have a baby, lose your love, lose your life, start over. This is the legacy that Aang fears. This is what he abhors with a revulsion he has never felt before.

When he flies to the Northern Water tribe with Appa, Aang has a great deal of time to think. He replays his life with Katara, who reminds him of a long-dried well, and regrets the love he has thrust upon her. She is beautiful, soft, and strong. Katara is a princess in her own right, as the people often say, and Aang is the rightful prince, the one she belongs with. She is the Avatar's High Priestess.

Everyone says so, at least.

And, though it makes him sick to think it, Aang does not want to have children with Katara, no matter how hard he tries to convince himself otherwise. But didn't he want this? Didn't he spend nearly two years of his life just trying to make her proud and happy? Didn't he almost destroy the world because he couldn't unblock his love-filled chakra? The flush of his skin when they first kissed was enough to make him sweat and shake with pleasure, so how has the feeling suddenly disappeared?

A yellow leaf falls from his tree. It silently settles on the ground.

He was a child that was too young to know any better, and Katara showed him for the first time how to be loved. She was a place in his heart that needed filling, so she mended it like she mends everything else that's torn. Aang no longer needs her in that way.

The idea of taking her sexually has become repugnant and so far from his feelings that he would rather forcibly remove his tattoos than consummate their marriage bed. He knows that there are suitors simply waiting for him to die or leave her- waiting to jump on the exotic Waterbending prodigy. She is gorgeous, except for her sad face, and Aang knows he should be craving her body like a normal man would.

But he doesn't. He doesn't for so many reasons that are sinful and perverse, each and every one. The monk's thoughts wander away from this territory, mostly out of mercy for himself, because Aang knows where they will end up. He twists his golden ring.

His brain seems to travel in the straight lines of Earthbending, connecting Katara to Zuko inevitably. Zuko, whose shiny, long hair is an endless distraction, always has a comforting word for his younger friend, and sometimes, Aang finds that he can rest easier at night with a simple squeeze on the shoulder from the Fire Lord.

Aang is obvious about his feelings.

He laughs a little too loud at Zuko's pathetic attempts at humor, and comes a little too close when they talk about the Eastern Rebels. He is too honest in their discussions about love.

Aang is leaving himself vulnerable, waiting for an accusation or attack, but never stopping his forward motion. It doesn't matter though. Zuko is so passive that he might as well be from Airbending lineage, not the son of Ozai, and he never seems to notice. This disrupts the tranquil demeanor that Aang works so hard to preserve.

"Look at me!" he wants to scream across the room when his own fingers are delicately entwined with Katara's. "I'm just waiting for you! Attack, please, attack!" Aang wants to throw himself on the ground and let every man, woman, and child tear him apart if Zuko would only acknowledge him as a lover. He could confess his feelings quick as the lightning technique he's perfected and stand there defenseless as the Fire Lord makes his decision. "Banish me, pity me, hate me, pick me, love me, Zuko. Make a choice."

The last of his kind takes a long swallow of his alcohol, watching the leaves rustle together. He has spent his time for today, and lightly hops off of the large branch in a way that only an Airbender could. "Come on, buddy," he calls to Appa, waiting patiently as the Skybison meanders over to him.

He considers for a moment seeking help from the past Avatars, but as of late, he cannot enter the Avatar State to search for them. Aang is losing his touch with the Spirit World, and no amount of meditation outside of Zuko's chambers is reconnecting him. In fact, the last time he saw Roku he was passed out drunk in his room, head full of nothing from the amount of wine he consumed.

"Why aren't you helping me?" he shouted at the old, bearded man. "You've abandoned me, you bastard!" His words leave no effect on the previous Avatar's face, and Aang is too drunk to be ashamed.

"This is killing me, Roku," he moans, curling smaller on the misty ground of the dead realm. He weeps with a rattling cough that churns his stomach, and Roku stares down at him impassively. Aang pulls himself up, tugging the hem of his robes, and rasps, "I love him." The vision vanishes as soon as the words leave his mouth.

He wakes in the morning with a shiver and a bad memory from the night before, praying that he never said such disgusting things to his mentor.

Aang hops into Appa's saddle to return to the palace. He needs to see Zuko, and plan a bit with Sokka. He should also speak with Iroh about the advisory perimeter, which would also mean he needs to see Mai. Aang nods as he thinks about his workload.

With a sigh, Aang acknowledges that he should see Katara, too. It's been three days.

"Yip, yip," he says lowly as they take to the sky.

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	4. Interrogation

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys make my day. Also, see who can spot the reference to Fandomme's _Stormbenders_. I just couldn't resist.

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**Interrogation**

When she looks in the mirror she thinks her weaknesses are so obvious they must show like cracks on her face. No one in the Senate remarks on her wandering eyes and shaky voice, but sometimes the old men gently clap her on the back when she makes a successful speech or supports a bill they don't oppose. Ty Lee is not a politician, but she is trying harder to learn the ways of ruling nations and redistricting zones and prison reforms so she doesn't look like a bumbling moron before her colleagues.

It doesn't remotely interest her, hence her moments of unfocused gawking, but she is trying so hard not to be pathetic among the wrinkled, wise floor leaders. Youth and beauty set her apart, but the men rarely take her seriously until another of their company pats her on the head to signal it's time to sit down, and uses his booming voice to sway the vote in her stead.

She hates it, but she stays in the Fire Nation and trains with Firebenders and reads dusty scrolls from Zuko's private library to learn more about their history to better their future. Sometimes she and Zuko laugh about stupid laws that she happens to uncover. For example, it is illegal to shoot an arrow from a second story window from noon to dusk in the Southern Pearl Islands, but perfectly fine to shoot at any other time or from any other floor. Ty Lee giggles in the same way she always has, and Zuko gives a half-hearted chuckle. It sometimes makes her sad to think that this is the only part of his heart that remains.

Being an old friend of the Fire Lord's has many perks that come with the title, and Ty Lee is not the kind of girl to pass up an opportunity.

Of course she wants to serve on Mai's committee.

Of course she wants to take the floor for Kyoshi's rights.

Of course, _of course_, she wants to escort the Fire Lady to her chambers after the meetings adjourn. It must be obvious to the Senators, but they never say a word.

The two women don't always talk when they return to Mai's room, but sometimes they keep a relaxed business air about them, casually discussing the day over a glass of wine. When there is more time and fewer interruptions, they find Mai's bed a more appropriate setting.

Sometimes, Ty Lee can impress Mai with her word-for-word memorization of the law. "When the High Court discovered this obvious conflict of interests, it drew heavy doubts upon the impartiality of the judiciary in the case of General Xiazon, especially among members of the twelfth district of the Eastern Provinces, later renamed the Silver Stone District," she recites in a lover's whisper, and Mai hums with pleasure at how hard she's studied just to be closer to her.

Still, she wishes Mai were more open about their situation. How can she stand living a lie to Zuko's face? To her nation? To her friends?

Ty Lee has a great deal of questions and only one source of answers, and she knows best of all how silent Mai can choose to be. She pulls her armor off, no longer needing her formal regalia, wondering how long she can stand being a second-string Zuko. Naturally, he is better for her tall friend: he is a ruler of nations and liberator of peoples and he's handsome in his somewhat gloomy way. They fit beautifully.

Except their auras don't match. It looks a bit like sludge to Ty Lee's inner eye when they stand side by side, but she's never been one to complain about how people fall in love. No, that's not the right word, but Ty Lee cannot think of a better way to describe them. They fell into place like children in a school line, but love was never a part of that equation.

It must be terrible for her dear Mai.

Her deadline for returning home is creeping closer and closer, but Ty Lee is good at bending things, including rules. She knows that Suki won't send her home if she asks politely and she simply won't go until she knows for sure how Mai feels. She needs to stop dancing around indeterminately like she's grown up doing, and find solid ground to plant her feet. She needs some answers.

She thinks it is better to wait and see than leave without any closure. Kyoshi Island would be perfectly fine without her for a few more weeks.

And not that she will tell a soul, but she can see Mai's aura perk up whenever they're alone together. It is sky-blue when she laughs honestly, and turns a darker, more sapphire color when they kiss in the secret of her room.

Today she is practically glowing with her cobalt light, allowing Ty Lee to lean into her thin body while they talk about nothing in particular, pressed against the red curtains of her office. Mai's fingers absentmindedly paint out little patterns on her skin and they've pressed their foreheads together during their discussion.

Ty Lee says, "He's a goof! I know for a fact that he doesn't write his own speeches because my sister's brother-in-law knows his writer, and he used to go to the academy with his cousin! And to think, everyone is dying to have him compose something for the Rice Festival."

Mai smiles, looping her thumb into Ty Lee's belt, "We should just send him back to the Oyster District."

They laugh quietly for a moment before Mai plants a slow kiss on her cheek. Ty Lee closes her eyes, not willing to lose the wonderful sensation, but soon the air above her face is no longer occupied. When her eyes open, Mai is watching her with a rueful gaze.

Ty Lee asks, "Have you talked to Zuko?"

"No," she turns her face away and the coldness returns to her voice. "He's busy."

Busy, Ty Lee thinks, is another word for hiding. She wastes no more time out of contact with the Fire Lady, melding their bodies together and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"I'll wait for you," she says. "I'll wait forever, even if you never pick me-"

"Stop,"

"You know that, right?" She continues, "I would stay here-"

"Stop it, Ty Lee!" Mai barks out, and the former acrobat feels her back stiffen beneath her robes. "Just stop. I don't want you to make this so easy. I don't deserve it." Mai crosses her arms in front of her chest like a barrier.

"You should walk away and threaten to leave forever," her voice cracks. "You should publicly expose me unless I promise to go with you. You should reduce me to a sniveling mess and throw me before the Senate. Why don't you understand?" Her porcelain skin is flushed red like embers, "You have the upper hand and you're just giving me every chance to hurt you!"

Mai spits out, "You should find someone better than me and give up on the idiot that won't leave her husband. You shouldn't be a … a mistress." She chokes in silence as bitter tears fall away from her steel eyes. She moans, "It's not fair- I'm not being fair to you, so why won't you leave me?"

The answer comes without faltering.

"I can't."

Mai crumbles in defeat, hanging low her black hair and biting her lip so hard that it might bleed.

Ty Lee turns the Fire Lady to face her and sits down in a chair, pulling their bodies closer together. Tall, composed, unyielding Mai is tugging at her collar and burying her shamed head in the base of her neck like a toddler asking forgiveness. This is not the woman that leads the Senate in times of crisis. This is not the woman who could kill an elephant-koi with throwing stars. This is not the woman that Azula would have recruited.

This is Mai, who has given her heart away and suddenly realized that it wasn't to the right person. This is Mai, who feels like she should hang for her lies to the boy she married. This is Mai, who needs Ty Lee but doesn't deserve her kindness and patience.

She cries long and hard into the Kyoshi Warrior, and sits in silence for several minutes when she has exhausted her supply of tears. "Thank you," she flatly says, and they sit together in a little puddle of weakness and deceit.

Ty Lee knows best of all how silent Mai can choose to be, but she is learning to find her answers without needing words.

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	5. Attrition

A/N: Sokka time! Angst warning ahead.

Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated. :)

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**Attrition **

Sokka does his best thinking in the calm of his bath. He picks at his fingernails, removing the grime, while pondering the lives of his friends. His thoughts wander as he sinks beneath the hot water, blowing the absentminded bubble and remembering a dinner he recently had with his wife and sister.

Katara comes over, looking worn and apologetic, and offers up a small basket of fruit for the meal. They sit together and idly chat until an uncomfortable silence settles over the room. Suki does her best to keep conversation flowing, but Sokka has no news, no jokes, and no stories that his sister might want to hear. He watches as she mindlessly looks at the food set before her, and cannot rip his glare away from his sister's forlorn face. Some strange leech is sapping her strength away, and he unknowingly thinks of her betrothal necklace as a sheepdog collar. He isn't sure why the golden stone that Aang carved seems so unappealing to him; it _is _beautiful, after all. It shines like the sun on a cloudless day, but Sokka thinks of wilting flowers in a summer drought. He knows too much sun can kill you.

When she leaves, dragging her tiny feet, Suki comments that she reminds her of Ty Lee, who has recently seemed pressed into silence, and she cannot make the connection between their depressing appearances.

Sokka thinks he knows: he watches Ty Lee watching Mai watching Zuko to see if she will be caught. He is too clever to miss the way they always seem to find each other from across a crowded room. He wonders if Zuko notices the eye contact, but he doubts it.

Ty Lee loves Mai, dark-minded and twig-thin. Sokka doesn't understand it, but he doesn't question it either. He knows that love is a mysterious thing.

He also knows that Katara loves someone else, but he hasn't figured out who it is. He knows this because she wears the same look that he wore many years before. When Yue died. Before he knew Suki.

It breaks his heart that his sister is engaged. Why did she accept Aang's proposal? She clearly doesn't want it. Aang doesn't even want it! She should give it back before they get hurt. Right? They should call off the wedding because it's obvious that they spend more time postponing than planning, right?

No answer.

His old friend is decaying. Aang's happy-shiny-big-smile-hero mentality is rotting like maggot-infested flesh, and Sokka can see how putrid his world is turning. The wisdom, the hope, the joy has left the Avatar's tall body and flown away with the rest of the Airbenders. For the world, they have left a tattooed corpse that drinks and weeps for the love he once had and lost and doesn't want anyway. Thank the spirits, thinks Sokka, for sad and determined Zuko. If it weren't for the Fire Lord's stubborn support, Aang would have fallen apart long ago. It used to be Katara that could inspire the Avatar to battle his demons simply because it made her happy.

Sokka sinks lower in the water. He hurts to think about Katara's false smile.

He knows he is not alone; he knows that Suki will always be there for him, but he cannot help but wipe the tears from his unshaven face. His poor sister is so miserable, like she's withering away with ice-sickness of the heart, and nothing Sokka says is making her better. He fears giving her the unstable advice that he wants to impart. His own emotions are continuously getting the best of him, so how can he offer her more?

His large hands move the thick layer of bubbles before him and shivers run down his spine when he looks down at his reflection in the water's surface. He sees the same starving eyes that his sister wears: empty and needy.

How?

He loves Suki with his whole heart. Why does he need so much more? Why does he need Katara to be full again, too?

Glaring at his bath water, he remembers a time when he slipped on the icy ground in the South Pole, cutting his fingers along the edge of his baby-spear and doing his best not to let Katara see him crying. She helped him up by tugging at his fur-lined parka, and pulled off his bloody mitten with puckered lips. She wiped it off and wrapped it with bandages that she just happened to have in her pocket because _naturally_ she would carry bandages around. Katara kissed his finger, not able to heal injuries yet, and walked back to their tent still holding his glove. The next day he found it sewed back up on his bedroll, washed clean of his rusty blood.

He needs her to be happy because Katara is his sister and his mother and his friend.

He feels her pain on a deeper level than he will ever reveal to anyone but Suki, and when Katara cries he cries with her. He lets the warm water pull his tears inside, and drags his fingers through his wet hair.

Nude, Sokka looks something like a broken man. His back is arched and shaking with his silent weeping. He mourns for his sister's vacant face and for his friends that are no better off than she is, dying at slow intervals and taking pieces of Sokka's heart with them as they go. They stand at a cliff in their lives, waiting to cross to the other side and find the end, but he is so afraid that they will drop inside a fissure and never return.

Though he does not tremble from cold, he wraps the towel around him like a blanket, shamefacedly wipes his nose, and returns to his wife hoping she can bring him relief. Suki sees him walking frailly through the doorway and drops the metal bowl she was drying to quickly embrace him.

Ignoring the wetness seeping though her clothes, Suki kisses him on the collarbone, silent and strong, like always.

Sokka thinks that she is too good for him. She is so brave and diligent and gorgeous, and his contemplations bring on a fresh wave of tears.

He plants a kiss on her head, rubbing circles on her back as if she is the one crying. He says, "Katara is so sad. And I can't- I can't do anything to make it better." His voice wavers, "What am I supposed to do?"

"We can help them, Sokka," she whispers into his skin. "I know we can."

"Them," he repeats. He scrunches closed his eyes, willing the last of the tears fall away. Sokka finds his voice again, "They're all lying. Katara and Aang and Zuko and Mai. They're lying."

She kisses him on the lips before she says, "So are Toph and Ty Lee."

His eyes widen.

His brow furrows the same way it always does when he makes a new discovery; Sokka has not considered the other woman that lives so much farther away. He looks again at the strange web they are weaving, twisting and turning and warping the truth from their own consciences. He sees a new connection from many months ago that he had never seen before.

Toph came as Bumi's escort to the Fire Nation, eating dinner with the Avatar and his old friends. Her face softened when Katara addressed her, making her look more like she could bend clouds than stones. Sokka mentally laughed at the time at this funny analogy. He thought it was very curious however, and made a note that Toph probably shouldn't have so much rice wine. He understands now the missing link, the missing soul that needed Katara's love as much as she wanted to give it. Of all people… Toph the cloudbender.

Sokka furrows his brow and says, "Love is blind."

Suki smiles into his chest, "For Katara, maybe."

So now he stands surprised by his friends and family. They are so together and so apart that Sokka wonders how they could even begin to function. He thanks the spirits that he and Suki have found love so easily and truthfully, and prays even harder than he can show the lost ones by example what it means to be full again.

Sokka is so tired of feeling his life slip away with his unloved friends. He is starving for their happiness, and Suki suffers with him. Sokka will change this.

He gently pulls away from her arms and says, "I'm going back to the bathtub."

"For thinking?" Suki tilts her head.

"Lots of thinking," he nods and kisses her goodbye. "Lots of planning."

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	6. Standoff

A/N: This chapter isn't introspective, and I seriously considered posting it at all, but I needed more dialogue with Toph and Zuko. Their relationship is brother-sister and very open in my opinion, so I thought they would be the first to talk about their situations. I hope the writing change didn't throw anyone off.

Zuko will still get a chapter to himself, so no worries! Give me a review and I'll give you… more chapters?

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**Standoff**

"If I ever have to sit through a _Women United in the Earth Kingdom_ meeting again, I swear I'll pound your face into dust, Zuko."

Toph stormed into his office, throwing his wooden doors wide enough that he could momentarily see the shocked faces of his guards in the hallway. She wore dress robes of pastel green and pink with ribbons and pearls in her long hair. Grimacing beneath her makeup, Toph began violently tearing off the accessories that completed her ensemble.

"_Women United_, really? They bitch and moan and act like they get no respect! They don't know how good they have it! Maybe they should go see how women in the Water Tribe are treated; then they'll shut their big fat traps about how their husbands have too much power. Everyone knows that Earth Kingdom women wear the pants in the relationship anyway." She tossed a pair of dainty slippers on the sofa before dropping next to them with a huff. "I'll bring Katara next time. She'll tell 'em."

From behind his desk, Zuko sealed the last of his scrolls and set them to the side. He said, "I'm sorry it was so terrible."

"It was horrendous."

He chuckled, "I'm sorry."

His fingers folded neatly in front of him as he looked out the large window by his chair. Lines creased his forehead until they blended with the warped skin of his scar, making him look more brutal than handsome in the evening light.

Toph's eyes narrowed, "You're being quiet, Hot Stuff. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Zuko replied.

Plucking the pearls from her hair, Toph scowled. "Are you still having trust issues or something?"

Zuko scoffed back, "I'm not a child." He watched as she tangled her hair with the ribbons clutched in her fist.

"I never said you were," she said through gritted teeth. "I just know when stuff bothers you, so tell me what's wrong."

His voice raised, "There's nothing wrong with me."

"I didn't _say_ something was wrong with you," she shouted back. "I just said there was something wrong in general!"

Tiny embers popped from his fists, "There is nothing wrong, Toph!"

She suddenly hurled herself forward, clutching the front of the Fire Lord's robe and pulling him close to her face. Toph growled, "Stop lying, you moron! I can tell when you do it, Zuko. I can always tell, and no one thinks I'm going to say anything. Well, guess what. I didn't travel all the way from Gaoling just to hear you pretend to be happy. Talk to me for once." Her face betrayed her weakness when she released her grip, and Zuko fell back into his chair. "Please, I need to talk."

Zuko's mouth remained open in surprise, but no words escaped him. At his lack of response, she turned away quickly and sat back on the sofa, continuing her attempts to undo her hair. If Zuko didn't know better, he thought it looked like she was holding back tears. The mess on her head fell in every direction, obscuring most of her face with decorations and clumps of hair so thick he could barely make out her furrowed brow and trembling frown.

"Your hair is a pigeon-rat's nest," he said slowly.

"Shut up, Zuko," she sharply replied, but scooted over on the sofa so he could sit with her. He took up her offer.

Working out a string of pearls from her now sloppy bun, Zuko said, "You looked very nice before you started pulling out your hair." She elbowed his ribs and he continued, "I'll tell the royal dressers to keep it to a one clip maximum for you."

"And no shoes."

"I can't guarantee they'll agree to that," Zuko said.

Toph grinned, "Threaten to banish them."

He laughed, "I'm sure that would go over well with public opinion." He unbraided a set of pink ribbons, thinking silently that he never considered hairdressing a part of his royal duties as Fire Lord.

"Zuko," she said softly, "Do you ever feel like you're not in the right place? That you're not the right person? Because… because I _know_ what I want, but I can't have it. I know that if I get my way, it means that someone else won't get theirs. I think… I don't know anymore." She sighed, "It could-- I could cause a lot of pain. What I want is not mine to take."

He set the unlaced ribbons on the sofa and mumbled, "I understand."

"I know you do, Sparky." Her toes curled on the stone floor of his office. "It's frustrating to be this way. A mistake is coming, I know it. It's gonna be my fault, too. I'll slip up, I won't be able to control myself, I'll be the first to do something stupid. Unless I go away."

Zuko stopped fixing her hair. He asked earnestly, "To the right place?"

"I think here _is _the right place. I'm just the wrong person." She turned to face Zuko, blank eyes drifting to a spot somewhere on his right arm. She said her words firmly, "I can't stay away from her."

One of the pearls slipped away from his hand, dropping loudly to the ground. He stuttered, "From whom?"

She sniggered, "Oh _please_, princess. You get one guess."

A blush crept up to his cheeks, but he shook his head. "I don't need to guess."

"Figured as much," she said. Toph pulled her legs close to her body, ignoring the rip of the seams in her dress. "I've toyed with the idea of just saying something to her, but I get so nervous when she looks at me. And then I get jealous and think stupid stuff about why it's not fair that I can't have her. And then I think about _him_ and how he's so damn fragile, and- and I don't want to hurt him, but he would never forgive me."

Zuko let the black waves fall to her shoulders, placing the remaining frills in the pile. A veiled threat laced his tone, "Don't hurt him."

Her only response was a noncommittal mumble.

"Don't hurt him, Toph," he repeated. "He loves her."

She pulled her arm away from his hands to grumble, "With all due respect, Fire Lord Zuko, you have no idea what you're talking about."

Her rudeness made Zuko seethe in a way that only royalty could. Rising sharply, he found a place far across the room to vent his anger. He felt suddenly hot in his heavy robes as he leaned against the window, jaw sticking out stubbornly when he forced himself to remain calm.

"Do you ever regret marrying her?"

He clenched his teeth, "I love her."

"Do you and Aang get to Firebend anymore?"

"No more questions, To-"

She abruptly shouted, "Lie to me, then! I won't know; my feet aren't on the ground." There was no sympathy in her voice as she addressed him, "Just tell me I can have her and it'll be perfect, Zuko. Tell me I'm not an idiot for coming here before the wedding. Tell me you love Mai and everything is wonderful and your whole life is just like you planned it. Tell me that you're happy. I want everyone to be happy."

A part of his chest constricted to make a hard case around his heart, protecting it from her words. "Everything is perfect," he lied.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, waving her dark tresses like a flag in the wind. Her feet padded over to his window where she rested her pale forehead against the pane of glass.

"Damn it, Zuko. Why are you so resigned about them? Don't give up yet." She admitted, "I haven't." Toph let the fog of her breath fade away before making her way to the exit, leaving her ribbons, pearls, and shoes on the sofa.

"It's not right, Toph," he whispered. She stopped in her tracks.

He said, "You know everyone watches us. We have higher standards-- higher expectations. Everything is already settled, and we… we can't be like that." For a moment he believed she was going to turn and strike him, but her tightened fist relaxed and she overlooked his comment in a strained silence.

"You left everything," murmured Zuko, feeling foolish for reprimanding her. She only spoke the truth, and he hated the way her teeth were bared in disgust. For the first time in many years, her blind eyes met with his exactly, openly staring into his suffering face. Zuko feared how much Toph could see in his heartbeat and scratchy voice.

"Maybe Mai will find it and think we're sleeping together," she said bitterly. "Throw everyone off our trail." She left the door open as she paced back to her room- to Katara- and away from the judgmental Fire Lord.

Now alone, Zuko ripped his headpiece from his top-knot, digging the cold metal into his palm. Hair fell on either side of his face, blocking the window's light, as he placed his head on his desk in defeat.

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	7. Guerrilla

A/N: So I went into this story without wanting to include Azula, but I found that I couldn't leave her out. She practically forced me to write her. No, literally, she forced at lightning point.

Constructive crit is welcome, and your reviews are appreciated like crazy. :)

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**Guerrilla**

When Azula bucks and thrashes, Zuko knows to take a step back. Sometimes she is triggered by his words, perhaps a memory of her failed attempts at tyranny, or sometimes she snaps of her own accord.

He visits her regularly, at least once every few months, but he is not foolish enough to believe he can reform her mental problems; and in the shadows of his mind, he thinks it is safer for everyone that she is still locked away. When he travels to her underground prison, Zuko tells only three people before he leaves: Iroh, Mai, and Aang. They impart their own advice to the older brother, hoping to put him in the right mindset for Azula's crazed words.

Iroh reminds him not to speak of Ozai's fall, and not to reveal his identity unless Azula mentions it first. She tends to slip between ages in her mind, acting like a forgetful toddler before rapidly barking orders as she did when she was a teen. Zuko has had to lie in her presence before, dressed in more casual clothing, pretending to be a nameless noble that simply seeks a princess' company.

Mai always urges him to not visit at all, but gives in when he turns away sorrowfully. She says not to concede to anger around his sister, knowing full well that she could still scar herself in rage. Despite her denials, Mai does not want to see her old friend wounded. There are precautions set in place, like Azula's frigid, sunless cell, but her Firebending still comes in uncontrollable spurts.

Aang nods wisely and smiles, "Be safe down there." He walks Zuko to the edge of the palace grounds to see him off, and asks, "Could I come with you to visit sometime? I know she's not right… but I bet she's lonely. Maybe we could help her." And the dark-haired man loosens his shoulders, appreciating that Azula's greatest enemy has not given up hope in her salvation, and agrees with the Avatar. Zuko stiffly walks away, trying to push thoughts of a goodbye hug out of his mind and ignoring the seemingly crestfallen grey eyes of his Airbending friend. It wouldn't be right, he says to himself, because he doesn't even hug Mai when he leaves.

Before entering the cell, he receives a polite warning from one of Azula's guards that she has been in ill tempers for the last few days. They have bound her ankles and wrists to the granite walls, and she seems to have reverted to a child again. The guard guesses she is about ten. He bows, stepping backwards, and lets Zuko pass into his sister's chamber.

The striking young woman is pouting in the corner, arms crossed, amber eyes boring a hole into the stone floor. Azula perks up when Zuko enters, but it is clear that she does not recognize him when she asks, "What happened to your face?"

Zuko blinks. At least she is speaking today, he reminds himself. Zuko bows to her and replies, "A training accident, Princess."

She arrogantly laughs, throwing back her unkempt hair, "You should be more careful. My father would not have such mistakes in his warriors." The metal chains clink when she stands up. "What do you want, one eye?"

Her words, a cruel parody of the nicknames that Toph gives him, pierce his composure and Zuko wonders why he even bothers visiting in the first place. He frowns, "Have you ever been in love, Princess?"

Her lips tighten, "Don't be foolish. I don't have time for boys, what with the academy and Firebending practice and ancient battle history. I was just telling Ty Lee yesterday that she's stupid for showing off to them so much. And Mai is the worst! She won't stop pestering my idiot brother." Azula lifts up her nose, "Besides, I will never marry unless it's to someone more powerful than I am."

Zuko's mind flickers to the last sparring match he had with Aang, where the tattooed man had happily defeated him. He shakes his head and continues, "I've heard that you're a Firebending prodigy. What if you can't find the person you're looking for, but Fire Lord Ozai wants you to marry?"

Azula's face pinches into the familiar glower of her youth, leaving Zuko with memories of falling into fountains and nasty smiles when she outperformed him in Firebending forms. She says, "Then I suppose I would have to find someone that bothered me the least. Not that it's your business." Her eyes narrow, "What did you say your name was?"

"Captain Li."

Her eyelids drop for a moment, and Zuko steps back in fear that she will uncover his disguise, but she only says, "I have an advisor named Li. She's a fat old woman, though. I hope you aren't related to that kook. Still, you must be some kind of moron to ask a little girl about love. Don't you have any friends?" Azula plants her hands on her hips.

Zuko sighs in relief, "I seem to have a habit of offending my friends. And I've heard you know the answers." A small voice inside of him says to stop his charade, to reveal her past, but the gloating look on her face is too firm for him to quit now. Azula may inadvertently help him.

She replies haughtily, "Then what is your question, Li?"

"I am a married man," he practically whispers, "But I am not in love with my wife anymore. There is another that I think I could love, but we're both involved with someone else. Though, we haven't- we haven't ever said anything about it to each other."

After a moment's pause, Azula drawls, "You still haven't asked a question."

He clenches his teeth and takes a deep breath. "I guess my question is: what do I do?"

Her lips, no longer painted red, curl up in a grin. "This is easy, Li. You leave your wife, unless you'll be punished by a superior or publicly attacked by her father, and wait for the other woman to come to you. Unless she's completely dense or uninterested, she'll figure it out."

"But what if I'm wrong?"

"Well, _duh_. It'll be your fault and you'll be alone. But honestly, Li, that's the risk you have to take," she retorts. "Except if you're some kind of coward, I think my advice is the best you'll hear."

"And my wife?"

Azula waves her hand, rattling her chains. "She'll get over it. She probably never loved you in the first place, especially with a scar like that." The prisoner yawns, "Now get out of here, you're boring me. Tell my servants to find Mai and Ty Lee, they should be around here somewhere. And don't tell Zuko. I don't feel like playing with him."

The Fire Lord stares at her sadly, suddenly remembering all those times he wished he were more outgoing or friendly. He wished he wasn't the less talented child. He wished he had best friends. He wished his sister loved him.

Zuko wishes so many things that never come true, and his thoughts are reinforced when he realizes that he is a ruler of the most prosperous nation in the world, and he still seeks the advice of his incarcerated, lunatic sibling.

Looking at the ground, he mumbles, "Yes, Azula."

"Ugh, you sound just like my brother," she lightly snarls. Her arms refold, carrying the chains, and she seems for a moment to be perfectly sane. She might as well be standing on the red-gold parapets of the palace, wearing her war armor and the crown headpiece of the Fire Lord. With this final image, Zuko leaves her cold cell.

The guard outside bows again, and the dark haired man inquires about the last visitor his sister had.

"You came two months ago, and before that there was a young woman." He searches his brain, "A Ty Lee from Kyoshi, I believe." The older man repeats, "But the most recent visitor was you, sir."

A scarred eye is the only thing the guard can see in the dimly lit corridor. "She thinks her friends are outside, waiting to play," Zuko says blandly.

"Yes, sir," the guard confirms. And this is all the answer that Zuko needs to know that Azula will never be whole.

And he walks back to the palace, feeling dirty and isolated and sick, feeling like Azula should feel if she is ever coherent again. While she may not be right in the head, Azula is as steadfastly cutthroat as ever. For a glimmer of an instant, Zuko wishes he could make a monumental decision like his sister could have in his position. She would simply forget Mai existed, leaving her with nothing, and actively pursue Aang without a second thought for Katara's engagement.

It would be swift and brutal.

And wrong from start to finish. It would not be the way Zuko handles his affairs, so he lets his daydream slips away into the bright light of the noonday sun.

His sandals are picking up dust along the road like the Toph's shoeless feet always manage to collect it. Zuko wants to apologize. He wants to wrap her in a tight hug and tell her that she's the perfect pseudo-little sister and he loves her so much and respects her decision. He wants Toph to punch him roughly on the shoulder and offhandedly tell him that he never hurt her feelings and he should go confess to Aang.

More than anything, the blazing heat of the sun makes Zuko want to lie down in the road. He could pretend to be a starving peasant, if only he could hide his scar, and never return to the palace. He could run away like he would have as a teenager. He could flee to the maze city of Ba Sing Se. Iroh and Mai could rule the country, prosperously and peacefully and better than he ever could have; and when Zuko is at his lowest, Aang could even save him again.

But he doesn't.

Fire Lord Zuko goes back home, to his royal palace that he finds unpleasantly stark, because there is the tiniest hope that a tattooed embrace awaits his return.

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	8. Denunciation

A/N: This one is a bit different as well. It has the introspective Suki moments, but with little vestiges of a plot. Review for me, I certainly need the input. 

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**Denunciation **

When she married Sokka, Suki promised to be the sister that Katara never had. To protect and comfort and soothe her husband's only sibling was only a natural part of her life. It was such a relief that the women were fond of each other that the entire nation made them something like Water Tribe royalty, and praised the small family as old heroes to worship anew.

Now, however, Suki is beginning to regret her promise.

She is known for teaching lessons the hard way, but she treads the most delicate line when dealing with her sister-in-law that she can hardly speak her mind for fear of breaking her heart. What kind of Waterbending Master cries at the drop of a hat? Katara clamps down on her trembling lip when she realizes that Suki's hazel eyes are upon her, and she offers up a faltering smile as an apology.

On Kyoshi Island, that kind of behavior would not be tolerated. The girl in question would have been locked into the training room with Suki and they would have fought until there was simply not a problem anymore. Women can bawl their eyes out when they have broken fingers and bloody noses, and Suki refuses to let her warriors cage their frustrations. She could force out secrets without speaking a word, and she knows it always ends for the best when emotions come spilling forth in relief. After spending a few years in the Fire Nation, she is noticing that her methods seem a bit barbaric, but she brushes it off. This is the way that Avatar Kyoshi solved her conflicts, and it is embedded in Suki like her wide grin or the way she talks. And it's not like the Fire Nation has room to criticize, she reminds herself. At least her version of the Agni Kai doesn't leave people permanently scarred.

Katara needs this, she thinks. Push her harder until she snaps, let her beat you senseless until she shrieks at the top of her lungs, let her be a furious bloodbender for just a second so she can forget that she is becoming the Avatar's unwilling wife.

As angry as she is right now, Suki would kill Katara for her stupidity if she were any less disciplined. She would rip out a chunk of chocolate hair and claw at her blue eyes for causing Sokka so much pain, but the Kyoshi girl is not thoughtless enough to believe that this would fix their situation. And honestly, Suki doesn't think Katara would be much of a challenge at this point anyway. The Waterbender looks so defeated that she is hardly the same person that fought alongside the Avatar six years ago.

Clutching Sokka's newest sword in her hand as she observes her movement in the mirror brings Suki a sense of calm. She parries her invisible enemy with the blade and drops into a split that could baffle even acrobats like Ty Lee. Her spinning legs sweep the feet of no one and she rises with a slash in the air.

The sword is a bit too heavy for her, but she likes this straight shape over the curved blades that Zuko is fond of using. Now that Toph is here, she may ask the metalbender to create a spare of the right size until Sokka can get around to forging one.

"Poor Toph," she sighs. Katara doesn't know what she's doing when she spends time with the Earthbender. She does not mean to drag her along like a puppy on a leash, but there they are, walking around the palace grounds as master and mongrel. It's degrading to see.

And, though she doesn't like admitting it, Suki misses Toph's attitude. Something about her sharp wit is gone and she seems more dead than alive when they talk about anything other than Katara.

She knows why.

Suki sets up a target across the room to practice her projectile aim. Mai lent her a set of sharp throwing knives and offered to train sometime, but the Fire Lady never gets the opportunity. Ty Lee laments this fact to no end, but Suki forgives her for rambling about it. After all, she can complain up the dead from their graves when Sokka is overworked.

The knives stick with quick thump into the wood, but Suki doesn't congratulate herself. Her focus is gone now that Sokka has come to the front of her mind, so she puts the knives back into their leather case and wearily hangs the sword on the wall. Against her best wishes Suki of Kyoshi wants to cry, sitting on the matted floor.

The outside door swings open and she thinks for a moment that her husband has returned home, but a second glance reveals her almost-sister. Katara stands alone in her bending clothes, without shoes, and she asks quietly, "Can I train with you for a little while?"

Fury rises, and is forced down. Suki must control herself.

She must control herself to fix her sister.

Suki doesn't want to cry anymore.

Her Kyoshi Warrior mentality returns in an instant, "No Waterbending." Katara nods and extends a hand to lift the sitting woman. She takes a fighting stance and says, "I think I did something to offend Toph." Yes, thinks Suki. This is the real reason she's here.

"Ready?"

"Yes," says the Waterbender.

It has been months since they fought last, and even longer since Katara has battled without bending. Suki rushes in, sending a low kick into her abdomen; Katara loses her footing immediately, but manages to redirect the attack.

"Why do you say that?" Suki asks.

She leans away from Katara's striking palm, and throws a punch that skims past her cheek and into her hair. The dark-skinned woman furrows her brow, obviously frustrated at how rusty she has become. "I haven't seen her all day," she replies. "She was upset-" her words are stopped by a close call with Suki's fist. "She was upset yesterday while we were talking and then she left just- just left."

Suki blocks her long fingers and hurdles her sister-in-law like she's a small child. They fight back-to-back now, looping legs and clashing arms against one another. "What were you two talking about?"

Katara spins in place, hoping to get a hold around her opponent's arm. "The Rice Festival, that new machine Teo built, the wedding, Haru's girlfriend," she says between gritted teeth. Suki clutches Katara's wrists and flips her over, cracking her head on the ground. The air leaves her lungs with a hiss and she lies panting on the floor.

"Get up," commands Suki. Her words come out harsher than she intends.

Her partner rises again and takes a deep breath. This is not the way this usually works, Suki thinks. Katara should have broken down by now, giving in to her emotions from physical fatigue, but she lets no sign of her worry slip away. Still, her eyes are empty.

Suki decides to test the limits of their friendship. Her face contorts when she sharply says, "You know it was the wedding." She attacks suddenly and Katara falls to the ground again, fully feeling the force of Suki's punch to the stomach.

The Kyoshi Warrior gives her no chance to retort. She lets loose with an axe kick to her head, and Katara rolls away in fear. Suki pursues and catches her collar, dragging her back to her feet with a snarl.

"What are you doing?" gasps Katara.

Suki pulls their faces closer, "What are _you_ doing?"

A driving knee puts the blue-eyed woman crumpled on her side and Suki stands above her, breathing heavily; she will seriously hurt her if their sparring continues like this. She sees Katara's lips curl back in the same way that Sokka's do when his friends are in danger.

Her mask is cracking and the tables will turn.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Suki," she spits. Her clenched hand catches Suki in the jaw, sending her reeling backwards. It was an attack she could have avoided, but she knows what her sister needs now; Suki understands the need to pierce and mangle and bruise, so she ignores her reflexes to dodge and simply lets Katara pound in her face.

"We weren't even talking about Aang!" She screams, "She just left me there!"

Katara's eyes are welling up and her attacks are becoming sloppy when she pins Suki to the floor. She punches again, leaving a bleeding cheekbone in the wake. "She's making it worse!" Punch. "She should just go away!" Punch. "I don't want her at the wedding!" Punch. Suki tastes the blood run between her teeth. "I hate him! I hate this! I hate it!" Punch, punch, punch. Her breath is coming out in short bursts, mingling with the hot tears that pour away from her grimacing face.

Without realizing, her fist becomes lined with ice from the sweat of her body.

Katara brings her deadly hand down with a final wordless scream, only to find it jarringly halted by Suki's open palm. Red lips slur, "No Waterbending," and when Katara sees what she almost did, her ice splashes into nothingness.

The water runs down Suki's arm and she releases her grip, flopping her fatigued limb to her side. Katara is slouched and frazzled, mouth forming shrill words. Her eyebrows pull up in horror at the sight of her friend and she immediately tries to heal what damage she's done. Groaning, Suki pushes her hands away to softly say, "You have to pick, Katara."

Her eyes grow wide and frightened, and an unspoken question is written on her face.

"She already loves you. It won't be that hard to tell her," Suki coughs out. She stands up slowly, feeling the parts of her body that are certain to ache tomorrow, and extends her hand to Katara. The Waterbender tentatively takes it, still reeling from the idea that she could have hurt someone so much with her bare hands.

Suki slings her arm around her sister's shoulders with a smile. "Good practice," she says. And they walk out together, fighter and healer, not really sure which is which anymore.

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	9. Tactics

A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter, but it makes me happy on the inside. Have I mentioned lately that I love Sokka? Review review review.

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**Tactics**

"This meeting is adjourned," announces Mai, bringing down the gavel with a loud bang. Eruptions of chatter fill the marble room as the Senators and few citizens make their ways out. She surveys her colleagues for a few minutes, pausing to answer a clarification question from the royal scribe. Behind the wizened old man stands Sokka, broadly smiling at the Fire Lady as he waits his turn to speak with her.

"Hello, Sokka," she says, surprised that she is somewhat happy to see him. Perhaps his good mood is catching.

"Hey there, Mai," he says. Another man appears at the pulpit, bowing deeply to her, and Sokka waits for him to pass. "Good session, huh? Got a lot done."

Mai squints; she knows that Sokka dislikes talking about legislation, especially to her. He and Ty Lee have the same attitude about politics. "It was boring," she says, thinking that she hasn't used those exact words in a very long time.

He laughs, "Yeah. It really was." They are mostly alone in the forum now, and far out of earshot for anyone stupid enough to eavesdrop. Few remaining people mill about, chatting quietly, absorbed in their discussions. Sokka's eyes follow them for a moment before his face becomes serious.

His hand strikes out like a serpent, catching Mai's arm, dragging her close to his body. She unconsciously reaches for the daggers up her sleeve, but she realizes with a sinking feeling that she no longer carries them. The Water Tribe Warrior does not flinch when she hisses, "How dare you?"

They are near enough to whisper together, and no one around has noticed their exchange so far. Mai's harsh eyes watch as he raises her hand up to face level.

The solid grip around her wrist leaves Mai unable to look away from her fingertips. "I know how Kyoshi face-paint can smear," says Sokka without a trace of emotion in his voice. "I noticed it from back there," he nods his head to the balcony seat he always occupies in the formal meeting room. "Make sure Ty Lee washes it off her neck before you start touching her. It really sticks behind the ears."

Sokka releases his hold of her and waves casually at a few lingering Senators on his way out. At her pulpit in the center of the marble floor, Mai hastily wipes her hands together, wringing out her fingers, and seeing for the first time the white powder that was so abruptly brought to her attention. Her lips form words- excuses- that are left unsaid and unheard. She shakes her head, still marveling that he could catch her so off-guard in such a public place. What an idiot! Idly playing with Ty Lee's hair had almost gotten them both caught. No, she thinks, it's far too late for almost. They've already been caught.

Sokka knows, and he made it very clear that it was no surprise to him.

Heels clicking on the stone floor, Mai chases after her ex-enemy, determined to keep him silent. "Take a walk," she commands her waiting guards outside.

She practically runs to catch up to him, tearing past banners of former lords and ladies in the hallway. Mai's long fingernails grab the sheath slung across his back, successfully halting him.

"Is everything all right?" Sokka asks her evenly.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"About the boring meetings? I'll probably bring something to color next time, maybe a book-"

The look on her face makes him stop.

"It's not my business to do anything," he says. Her lips are pulled taut in a thin line and she appraises the truth of his words. Mai can see him talking to Katara, talking to Aang, talking to Zuko, ruining her secret.

"This is an unacceptable state of affairs, Sokka. I'm an unelected public official… and a married queen." She tells him hesitantly, "I could be banished."

He swings a muscular arm around her shoulders and says, "Walk with me." Mai is blushing at the contact, wondering why he bothers treating her like a friend. Even her brother, Tom, is reluctant to come too close to her sharp fangs, and she hasn't held Zuko in an eternity. Not to mention that being the Fire Lady has made her essentially off-limits to casual contact.

Sokka moves with a relaxed amble while she stands painfully rigid, marching like the royal guards she sent away. He leans over her, smiling at her discomfort in the situation. "Look, Mai, you won't be banished. Zuko's not Azula, thank the spirits. I think we've both had enough crazy bitch in our life, right?"

"You're barbaric," she snaps.

He shrugs, "I'm just saying that being in love is sort of a one or the other choice. You can't have them both for long." He holds her arms, staring at her with his icy-blue eyes that leave no room for argument.

"Zuko and Ty Lee don't deserve that," he says. Mai feels a pang of sorrow when he says their names, and she avoids looking directly at him. "You're better than that, Mai. You and I know that you don't want it to be like this. Covering up secrets hurts a lot of people, even if it may not show. Things will get worse."

She hates the pity in his eyes, loathes the sympathy. She isn't worthy of it, and somewhere in the course of his words, Mai represses the urges to claw off his face, scream until she passes out, banish him to the far reaches of nowhere, and hug him so tightly his bones break. She opts for a different choice, and lets her steady voice crack slightly. "I'm sorry," she tells him.

He looks into the grey eyes that match his sword in color, thinking that are twice as hard and three times as sharp. "I'm not the one who needs to know," he says sadly.

After a pause, she primly clears her throat, "She's… Ty Lee has been asking me to tell him. Zuko has had a very difficult life, as you well know, and I used to make it easier." Mai sounds like she is remembering a different time.

"We were in love."

Sokka opens his mouth, but she shakes her head and he does not speak. Mai takes a deep breath, "But to think, his wife and her best friend are lovers. Maybe it doesn't matter anyway, maybe he's already found someone else." Her eyes tighten, "Zuko talks in his sleep."

"Who?" asks Sokka.

A humorless grin files her features. She says, "No one of consequence."

Sokka's large, rough hands are set on her shoulders again. "You're doing the right thing," he reassures her.

"I am," she concedes. "Thank you for… helping. Although, you must be aware, there are far more diplomatic ways to make a point to the Fire Lady. Have you no manners, you great ape?"

As an answer, Sokka picks her up with a bear hug around the waist and starts spinning in a wild circle. Her black heels fly off against a wall and he plants a wet kiss on her cheek as she scowls, "Put me down, heathen!"

"That's my girl!" He sets her on the ground, ruffles her hair, and strolls away with a mischievous giggle.

Collecting her fallen shoes, straightening her robe, and putting her hair back in place takes several minutes of muttered curses, but Mai cannot help the small smile that infiltrates her serious defenses. She looks at the man down the hallway with a final roll of her eyes.

Her gaze finds a settling place on a colorful banner of an old Fire Prince holding up golden cup beneath the rising sun. Sitting for her own portraits and tapestries had been a dreadful experience, constantly being touched by the painters and weavers, adjusting her head just slightly, not being able to talk. Thank Agni for Ty Lee, who had forced her way into the sitting and chattered incessantly as Mai listened. The artists hated her, but Mai was grateful. She is always grateful for her.

Still, she is afraid.

Everything is balanced so perfectly, building up this precariously stable beast, and Mai is afraid to topple her world. It will be broken, crumbling and dusty and possibly unfixable, because she was the feather that tipped the scale.

But she cannot deny it. Sokka is right: her secrets need telling.

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	10. Conquest

A/N: All right, Avatards. This is the first chapter that has some (non-graphic) sex mentioned, so don't freak out. I really like this section of the story, and some reviews would be great.

This chapter was written as a one-shot before I even considered writing _Theory of War_. I hope it doesn't stick out too much, and I added a few more things to fit with the story.

Let me know what you think.

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**Conquest**

If Katara dislikes one thing about the Fire Nation, it would have to be the heat of the summer months. During the day it bakes at her neck while she trains and teaches, and it keeps her awake into the late hours of the night, sweating in her sheets. Her fiancé laughs off her complaints, attributing it to her South Pole upbringing, and she manages to smile with him.

She has trouble sleeping without some sort of quilt or cover over her body, but the mugginess of the night makes her want to strip down to nothing to keep cool, locking Katara in a vicious cycle.

She is beginning to think that her entire life is a cycle of struggle and suffering; and, although the war ended six years ago, Katara feels like she is constantly fighting her battles.

She believes that Aang is brilliant, and that he loves her. She believes that once she loved him back, but is finding it harder to think such things. He proposed almost three years ago, even though he was still far too young to plan for such a future, so she accepted with bright eyes and a chaste kiss.

Those are the only kinds of kisses she receives from him, she bitterly remembers. As a monk, he vows his abstinence until marriage, and the general public thinks him even nobler for this mindset; at first, Katara agreed with them.

But now that she is twenty years old and still a virgin and still engaged and still not in love with him, she is beginning to think that her life is a more vicious cycle than the hot nights in her soaked sheets.

He is away from her often, constantly meeting with Zuko and the advisors about some rebels or another, and Katara misses his companionship, but not the way he looks with a ring around his finger- the remnant of a strange custom that Airbenders had when they were engaged. He looks at the ring with a tiny glare, as if he does not want to be bound to her by the piece of golden metal. Aang does not want to own her.

She thinks this is fair. Katara does not want to belong to him anyway.

A small mercy in her loneliness is that she spent the last few weeks with Toph Bei Fong.

The Earthbender had grown tall and pale and lovely over the years, but remained as tough and stubborn as a mule-cat. Her work as an Earth Kingdom ambassador in Omashu put her frequently in the public eye and, much to her chagrin, kept her away from her old friends in the Fire Nation. Then one night, out of the blue, Toph knocked loudly on Katara's bedroom door and pronounced, "Bumi said I needed a vacation, so I'm staying in the Capital for a while."

Slipping into their old habits had been easy and comforting for the women, and it was rare to find them apart. But sometimes Katara thought that Toph looked strained when Aang was discussed. She even looked sick enough that Katara felt the desperate urge to press her hands to her heart and pour out her healing energy.

A few days ago they were sitting on a bench in a crowded square, discussing her marriage plans, and Katara felt Toph's hand accidentally brush her hip. The black-haired girl completely choked, and stood up as if lightning had shocked her. Katara stared in confusion as Toph blanched, stuttering an apology before making an excuse to leave. The crowd of people closed up around her, and Katara found that she was alone.

Neither of them mentioned it again.

This is because Toph is avoiding her like royals avoid the plague, and now Katara feels like she has no friends. The Waterbender silently rebukes herself for such petty thoughts.

She has a certifiable family here in the Fire Nation, full of people that she loves so, so much, but none of them are a sufficient substitute. None of them are Toph.

She will not deny that she feels better after her violent encounter with Suki earlier, but she is slightly afraid to face Sokka about it. She hopes that her sister-in-law keeps her promise of silence about their encounter. Still, it isn't the same.

Katara wants to relax and pass the time with her childhood friend as they sit in the sunlight and chat the hours away. She wants them to lean together and whisper rumors so she can stare right into Toph's beautiful blind eyes and never be asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" She wants Toph to accidentally touch her and not run away.

And now, twisted in her spirit-forsaken sheets, Katara replays this moment in her mind. It is the last night that Toph will be in the Fire Nation, and all Katara can think about is the way her fingers brushed against her clothes so lightly. It was a touch, just one touch, coupled with a powerful reaction. Katara has never been a foolish girl and she didn't really need to ask Suki about offending their mutual friend. She knows what Toph must have been thinking because she is thinking it, too.

It is more than Aang ever gave her.

She blushes in her dark room because of the path her mind is walking. It's wrong, she has been told, but she can't help it. At this point in her life Katara doesn't give a damn about the cruel words and subtle insults that might be thrown her way. She is thinking about what _she_ wants and she needs her _right now_. And suddenly, Toph is there to oblige her.

Her door swings open slowly.

Framed in the wooden rectangle stands a thin figure with long black hair and pale green eyes. Toph whispers, "Don't say anything."

Katara swallows hard.

She crawls gently onto the bed, right on top of Katara, and her hands touch the sides of her face, her neck, her shoulders, her hair. Katara is breathing harder now, but remains silent and pinned beneath the Earthbender.

Toph says, "I don't want him to touch you. Not ever." Katara opens her mouth to refute this statement, but she stops when she looks at Toph's face. Her eyes seem so sad that Katara is reminded of a look she has seen before and hated- the pitiful face of a blind girl in a hopeless situation. It does not suit her.

Toph's pink lips soften as she says, "I'll go if you don't want me."

In a silent response, Katara kisses her cheek. Slowly, Toph turns her face until their lips are touching. They do not pull apart. After a moment, their tongues are touching, Katara is gasping, Toph is running her fingers along the length of her arm. She presses her mouth harder to the Waterbender, kissing deeper. Katara pushes herself forward to plead for more contact.

Toph stops suddenly.

"If he ever finds out, tell him you begged me to stop. Lie to him. Tell him I took you and you weren't strong enough to fight back. He'll believe you," she breathes out her lie.

Katara nods.

She draws a line of kisses between Katara's breasts at the same time that she unties her betrothal necklace to throw it tersely on the floor. A splash of brown hair falls against a pillow, only broken by white fingers in the moonlight.

"I want you to belong to me," whispers Toph.

Katara's eyelids flutter closed, and she manages another nod. Roaming hands finally find a place to stop, and Katara isn't sure how she should react to what she feels. She clutches the headboard of her bed and throws back her head.

"I want you now," says the blind girl.

Toph is kissing, touching, moving, murmuring, skin all wet with sweat, and Katara thinks she must be dying for something to feel so good.

She is getting closer and closer to finally breaking her vicious cycle in the night, and she needs Toph more every second. She screams and quivers in her arms as she pants out her name.

Toph pulls her tightly and kisses her again with her searching face and strong hands. It is better than Katara imagined, and she does not care that Aang's necklace is on the floor.

She does not care that the night is humid.

She does not care than her sheets are sweaty.

Toph has her restrained on the bed, and now Katara knows to whom she belongs.

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	11. Ally

A/N: This was written on the premise that Aang and Ty Lee are besties. I figured they would get along well, and this chapter was sort of their continuation of the Zuko and Toph conversation. I tried very hard to make it clear that they were all friends, no matter what stupid situations they managed to get into.

This is also the longest chapter so far. Woo! Read and review.

PS – Do I spy some plot resolution?

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**Ally**

They traveled together during most of the morning, saluting the citizens of the Fire Nation's poorest area, the Ox-Horn District. Aang imparted his blessings and advice, kissing babies and banishing spirits while the people cheered him on. Ty Lee stood back with a smile, watching and protecting her charge, the Avatar. He had specifically asked for her accompaniment, knowing full well that he didn't need a bodyguard when he was a master of all four elements, but to appease the Fire Lord. Zuko always insisted that he have an extra pair of hands.

After several hours of meeting and greeting, and warding off admirers for both of them, Ty Lee and Aang were invited to a quiet inn where a hearty lunch was being prepared in their honor. They both requested vegetarian meals, much to the butcher's chagrin, and cheerily laughed when he presented them with a platter of fruits and vegetables in the shape of a sheep-pig.

They sat on blue cushions at their low table, chatting and eating their fried rice.

"I'm telling you, Haru's girl is an Air Nomad! She looks just like this old nun from the Eastern Temple, except without the lazy eye," said Aang. "And wrinkles."

Ty Lee laughed and said, "Well you should see the new Security Counselor. He must be three hundred years old, and sometimes he falls asleep when he's talking." She crankily furrowed her brow, "You young 'uns today don't know the meaning of hard work… hard… uh…" Her head bobbed down.

Ty Lee let out a loud snore before snapping to attention, returning her grin. She said, "Uncle Iroh thinks he's hilarious."

She popped a grape into her mouth, "Mai doesn't like him very much though. She gets so frustrated sometimes, but that's no surprise." Her eyes lit up, "Remember when she yelled at that rebel assassin for missing his target? She still has the throwing star that almost hit her."

Aang nodded crookedly, "Poor guy. He was practically begging for prison after she finished with him." He slurped up some noodles and they slipped into silence, reminiscing on their own.

Quietly, Aang said, "Thanks for coming with me, Ty Lee. It's really nice of you to volunteer to travel when you could just stay at the Capital. I know you're busy."

"Oh, it's not a problem! Mai's in session all day anyway, so I really wouldn't have anything else to do," she stopped her sentence awkwardly.

Her chopstick slipped to the table. Ty Lee's finger snatched it up again and she loudly said, "I like to travel!"

The Avatar smiled. "Me too. Mai is lucky to have a friend like you."

Ty Lee paled, and her eyes grew fearful, but Aang continued, "I'm lucky to have a friend like you, too."

Her tense muscles relaxed and she replied, "The feeling is mutual, sir."

Before the dessert was served, Ty Lee came to the conclusion that Aang was not a foolish young man. He has seen the world both doomed and saved, and stood at the center of destruction. He has rebuilt a society with the help of his friends, fueled by his own sheer determination to do good. Ty Lee thought that his grey eyes were too old for his body; she thought that he must see more than he ever asked to see, and nothing could stay hidden from his view for long. He was the child-savior: the world's Avatar.

Ty Lee was not foolish either. She saw what caught the attention of his grey eyes.

"I trust you, Aang," she mumbled in her soft, dauntless voice. "Can I tell you something?"

He looked at her curiously, but gently, in a way that all Air Nomads used to have. As he ate his rice, Aang braced himself for her words.

"Are you sure it's something I need to know, Ty Lee? Secrets are secrets for a reason."

"What?" she asked.

Aang crossed his arms and sighed. "Nothing. Go ahead."

She shook her head, "You've never done that before."

"What?"

"Not listened," Ty Lee said. "You never hesitate like that, not to me. Not to anyone. And what's this 'secrets are secrets' business? I tell you everything."

Aang lowered his head so low that his nose almost touched the rim of his cup. His posture was loose and weak and even the inn's hired help took notice. Ty Lee thought the blue arrows looked much better when Aang was in motion: waving, training, dancing. Right now, they all pointed lifelessly down.

She set down her chopsticks and glanced up furtively from beneath her brown bangs. "I'm sleeping with Mai," she stated.

Ty Lee flinched as soon as the words left her mouth, but when Aang said nothing she asked, "Did you hear me?"

He calmly took a breath. The napkin in his lap was placed on the table before he responded.

"Does Zuko know?"

Her lips parted unwillingly, and an unusually rough laugh escaped. She shook her head, "But- but, you're not surprised? You're not disappointed?"

His hand reached out for the cup of tea, bringing it cautiously upward. Aang blinked at his lunch-date, "I can't be mad if you love her." He sipped slowly and smiled again when he was done. The cup and smile were empty.

"But I mean, what if Katara-"

"No," he said quickly. "It's not the same." He scowled at the vegetables before him, and then dully said, "Thank you for trusting me though."

Ty Lee felt a terrible dawning realization enter her mind. She was sorry for ever mentioning the Avatar's fiancé, but she refused to let him keep quiet. He had a burden that no man should have to carry alone.

"Is she with someone else, Aang?"

"Not yet. At least, I don't think so." He did not elaborate.

Ty Lee set her chin in her hands, resting her elbows on their wooden table. A tiny thought made her giggle and she recited, "Secrets, secrets are no fun…"

Aang snorted lightly, and said, "Oh, great, Ty Lee. Schoolyard logic on the topic of adultery."

Her smile was wiped clean and she soberly replied, "Sorry, Aang. You don't have to say-"

"I can't go into the Spirit Realm anymore," he blurted. Her eyes widened as his words fell out faster and faster. "I can't enter the Avatar State, and last time that happened it was because my chakra was blocked and every time I try to get help from the past Avatars they just stare at me and don't say anything and they all look at me like I'm dirt or something. Meditation hasn't helped, and Katara hasn't helped, and I think I'm doing it to myself as punishment for being in love with someone that I'm not supposed to be in love with."

His heartbroken stare met with hers, "And, Ty Lee, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it."

Without a word, Ty Lee grabbed his arm, bowed a quick "thank you" to the inn's management, and dragged him out into the thick forest behind the building. She practically threw Aang onto a fallen log and commanded, "Spill, Aang. Everything. Start from the beginning."

His voice wavered, "But I'm engaged."

Ty Lee felt a crack in her heart grow wider. Aang's pretty blue aura was gone, replaced by smoking tendrils of sadness.

She sat down beside him, "Aang, I'm in love with the Fire Lady. Think of what Zuko will do when he finds out. None of us are in good places right now."

"That's for sure," he said. "Ty, if I tell you everything, you have to promise it's just between us. You can't even tell Mai. Especially Mai."

She blinked.

"Nope."

Aang's mouth slanted up in a confused line. "What?"

"Seriously, Aang. You tell me what you want to tell me, and I won't go blurting it out to the whole world. But if Mai asks me, I'll tell her. I'm not about to start lying to the one person that trusts me."

Her words were searching, "Would you lie to Zuko?"

A small noise slipped from his throat, and Aang shook his head. For a second, his mouth moved without speaking. "Then… then I guess I need to start from the beginning."

And he did.

He censored nothing about his courting of Katara, his growing admiration of his Fire Nation friend, his secret fear that he was falling out of love with his betrothed. He told her about how he was sorry that he carved her a necklace, he was sorry that he asked Hakoda for permission, he was sorry that everyone had been so pleased with their engagement. He spoke of his jealousy of Mai, his inability to find spiritual guidance, his fear that Toph knew his secret, and his growing need to seek a friend.

Ty Lee said nothing until he drained out his entire story, and then wrapped him in a solid embrace. She asked, more to herself than anyone, "How did I let this happen? I never said a word and I wonder why."

Aang scuffed his shoe in the leaves, "So they wouldn't get hurt. We didn't say anything so our friends wouldn't get hurt."

"I guess you're right," she said. They sat back to back on the log, and watched the sun lower in the west.

"Aang?"

"Mmhmm."

"Do you want to try to go into the Spirit Realm? I'll watch your body."

He pursed his lips, "I don't know, Ty Lee." She unexpectedly turned to face him, nearly knocking him off his seat, "Are you serious, Aang? You just told me _everything_, and you don't think that it helped unblock your chakra in the teensiest, tiniest way?"

"All right, all right," he took a deep breath. "I thought Mai was the bossy one."

She playfully shoved him before returning to her previous position. "Good luck," she told him.

Aang crossed his legs, setting his palms upward on his knees, and kept his back straight. He rhythmically breathed, focusing on the opening of his spiritual gates. When he reached the last one, he allowed himself to converge his thoughts on Zuko, and his mind was immediately enveloped in white light. Ty Lee gaped at his glowing tattoos.

Nearly an hour later, Aang awoke with huge grin and a crick in his neck. "It worked!" he yelled. From her headstand position across the clearing, Ty Lee shouted, "That's great!" She bounced to his side and said, "So what happened?"

He screwed up his face, "Let me try to sum this up: Avatar Yanchen told me it took almost one hundred and twenty years to figure myself out, Avatar Kuruk said I was as slow as a finless shark-snake, Avatar Kyoshi threatened to rise from the dead so she could punch me herself, and Avatar Roku actually imparted his wisdom." He nodded, "That's how things usually go."

She beamed, "What did he say?"

"He said," Aang paused. "He said that I need to wait for Zuko to figure out what he wants, too. He said to be patient."

Ty Lee snickered, "Well then it shouldn't take long. You know how patient Firebenders are. I give Zuko five minutes to decide."

They stood to walk back to the Fire Nation Capital, both feeling a great deal lighter than they had in months. As they hiked in the growing night, Aang asked, "Have you always loved Mai?"

"Pretty much since we were little, but back then I got the feeling she never really liked me."

"Why?"

"Because I was so annoying and she was so… regal," she dreamily sighed. "Have you always loved Zuko?"

Aang tilted his head, "I guess not when he was trying to roast me, but I always wanted him to like me back. You know how it is: iceberg boy meets banished prince, prince tries to kill boy for tyrannical father, boy and prince fall in love. Pretty typical."

They laughed and talked all the way to the palace grounds, where the Avatar and his bodyguard returned to their rooms for the night, both sleeping alone, but sleeping soundly.

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	12. Decoy

A/N: Let's get some angst. Review for me, too. I'm hoping to give up some Sukka love in the next chapter (plus Zuko, but not like that.) Enjoy.

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**Decoy**

When Toph wakes, she is warm and pleased with herself.

There is moment of confusion when she doesn't recognize the feel of her own sheets and the thick pillows she is accustomed to sleeping on. In their stead there is a familiar breathing form, one that is still sleeping as Toph lightly skims her arms with her fingertips. The contact wakes her.

Katara rolls over, opens her eyes, and guides Toph's hand to her face.

"It's early still," she groggily says. "You could stay for a little while."

"No," says Toph. "I should've left last night. Now I'm stuck in your girlie room until we know the coast is clear."

Katara props herself up on one elbow. "And how do you know my room is girlie?"

"Smells like flowers and perfume, and I'm willing to bet it's pretty clean. My room is nothing like your room." Toph is grinning, far too happy to have an idle conversation wrapped up with the young woman beside her.

"What does your room smell like… rocks?" asks Katara.

"Oh yeah. Rocks, dirt, the tears of my enemies. It's a good smell."

Katara playfully pushes her, but Toph kisses her and she doesn't bother continuing to play coy. The Earthbender closes her blind eyes and loops her fingers in Katara's hair, rubbing her scalp and making her shiver.

"I'm sorry," Toph says, smile fading. "I shouldn't come back like this. You're in a tough situation and I should be more sympathetic or something. I could go-"

"Please stop," Katara mumbles. Her hands cover her eyes like a barrier from Toph's words. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

A tiny sigh escapes Toph's lips, and she says, "Neither do I, Sugar Queen. I _never_ want to talk about it, but what else can we do?"

"We could go get breakfast, or you could give me a back massage, or you could shut up and kiss me," Katara says.

"I like where this is going. Is all of the above an option?"

They kiss, and Katara hums, "Mm-hmm."

Toph's kisses grow deeper before they move down Katara's throat, short nails trailing against the undershirt on her shoulders.

She thinks, _I'm in love_, and kisses the smooth skin nearest to her mouth. Her chest presses to Katara's, feeling the quickening pace of her heartbeat. The thought that Katara likes what she's doing is enough to drive Toph crazy, and she brings her head up to desperately kiss the girl beneath her.

A whimper into her wet mouth melts her heart, and Toph pulls away to whisper, "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

Both of Katara's hands cup Toph's face, thumbs pressing lightly against her cheekbones.

"How many times have you done this, Toph?"

Her weight shifts, pressing her knee between Toph's legs. Katara says, "You're too good at it, you know. You're making me look bad."

Leaning back, Toph pulls the Waterbender into her lap, holding her hips and kissing her just beneath her chin. Her tongue caresses Katara's skin when she speaks.

"You're my first and last and only," Toph says. "And, in case you forgot, I'm blind. You can't look bad."

Katara laughs quietly and says, "Mood killer."

Hands slide under her shirt, "Mood killer? We'll see how killed the mood is when I'm done with you." Her voice becomes low and sultry, "If you speak again, it better be to scream my name. Isn't that right?"

The command gives Katara chills, but she answers breathlessly, "That's right."

"Oh no, Katara," Toph forces their bodies together. "You spoke."

Katara yelps, thrilled at the sudden lack of control. She murmurs, "What will you do to me?"

"Something terrible." She licks the valley above her collarbone. "Something just terri-"

Toph's words abruptly stop and she throws Katara against her headboard with the force of a rockslide, cracking her head on the wood. She moans in pain, not enjoying the turn of events.

"What the-"

The blind girl clamps her hand over her mouth and hisses, "Someone's coming!" A knock fractures through the air, and Toph resists the sudden urge to vomit.

_Aang_, she thinks. _Not Aang, not Aang, not Aang._

Katara scrambles out of bed, hair in disarray and clothes hanging off, to toss Toph into her closet. She lands in a pile of shoes and what feels like Katara's old South Pole parka.

"Yes?" Katara wavers.

The door opens, revealing Mai. The Fire Lady solemnly stares at the sight before her, narrowing her eyes. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, ah, I was just working out. Morning exercise."

Mai walks past her, nodding to herself. She plants herself stiffly on Katara's bed and surveys the room.

"Did you know Ty Lee and Aang have come back?"

Katara frowns. Mai never makes social calls unless something is wrong. Katara says, "No, I didn't."

"They returned late last night," Mai says. "I'm surprised he didn't come tell you he was home."

She measures her response for a moment. "I'm sure he didn't want to wake me."

"Hmm. Do you ever wonder how different our lives would be without the war?" Mai asks. Her face is empty, voice flat, hands folded neatly in her lap.

Katara is taken aback, unsure of how to respond, but Mai continues. "If the Airbenders hadn't been exterminated, Aang would have lived and died by now. He'd be a legend, another Avatar with statues and paintings and stories about him.

"Zuko wouldn't be scarred," she says. "Azula wouldn't be imprisoned. You and your brother would be in the South Pole with your parents. Toph and Suki would never leave the Earth Kingdom. None of us would have met. None of us would walk the halls of this palace. And, forgive my selfishness, none of you would matter to me.

"Only Ty Lee. She would be the only person who wouldn't change."

She rises, stalking toward the confused Waterbender. Toph clenches her hands in the darkness, wondering why she feels threatened by Mai's movements.

The monotonous voice suddenly fills with tension, as if her words carry more meaning, "Do you understand me, Katara?"

The distance between them closes and Mai clutches her arms. Her grey eyes glisten wildly.

"Do you know what it's like to be walled off from what you love? To be given to someone else? Someone you thought you loved?" She's practically shouting, "Are we the same in that, Katara? I'm risking everything on you, but are we the same?"

Mai suddenly feels like an enemy again. She's too close, too ferocious for her nature. "Don't marry him, Katara. Don't make the mistakes I made. Please, please, for me. For her." Mai's long nails dig into her biceps and her teeth are bared. The hopelessness on her face is even worse than when she was imprisoned in the Boiling Rock for saving a boy a long, long time ago.

"Mai, for who?" Katara winces.

She clenches tighter, and Toph barely stops herself from flying out of her hiding spot. "For Ty Lee," she says calmly. "Because I love her, and I'm breaking her heart."

Toph and Katara feel their stomachs drop.

There is blood under Mai's nails, and she stares apathetically away from her audience. The black of her robes is painfully stark as she smoothes the front of her dress.

"I must be losing my mind," Mai says humorlessly. "Forgive me for ruining your morning." She opens the door to walk away, tall and rigid and apathetic, but Katara calls out, "Why are you telling me this?"

The sting of her arms is pulsating sharp waves of pain that Toph can practically feel through the polished stone floor.

Mai does not turn to face her. She says, "Because Toph left her shirt on your chair."

The door closes. Mai is gone.

For several long seconds, Katara stands motionless in the center of her room. To an outsider, she looks like a well-painted statue straight from the artisans of the Northern Water Tribe. Her blue eyes fill with tears, more water than she really wants to deal with, and even the creaking of her closet door does not snap her out of her tunnel vision.

Toph comes before her, taking hold of her hands and putting them against her heart.

"This is my fault. I'm so damn sorry, Katara. I wasn't thinking and now we're in trouble."

The Earthbender touches the side of her face, letting her thumb slide beneath Katara's eyes, checking for tears. The motion wakes Katara and she hugs Toph tightly in response.

"Do you think Zuko knows?" she asks.

"No," says Toph. "He won't be surprised though."

"What about Aang?" she asks, burying her face in Toph's shoulder.

The question makes Toph stiffen her posture, a movement that is not lost on Katara, and she turns her head away slightly. Toph knows all about Aang and his erratic heartbeat. It pains her to bear the weight, but she doesn't tell Katara. It's not her business to tell her, so instead she asks, "Do you still love him?" Toph stands firm on the floor, resisting the craving to lift up her feet.

Katara grabs her face as if staring into her blind eyes. "You and I love Aang equally. He's our friend, and a good man. But could you see yourself married to him?"

"Hell no," Toph says, grinning into the unseen face before her. "But Mai and Ty Lee together-- that's surprising. I always thought Azula was the… you know."

Katara giggles. "She's just a very domineering young lady." She brushed back the long bangs from Toph's forehead and sadly says, "I'm telling Aang tonight. This has gone on too long."

The pale skinned girl nods and picks up her Waterbender to carry her back to the bed, setting her down and laying beside her as they were earlier. They do not move again for almost an hour, not even needing to speak through the silence of Katara's room.

They go to breakfast together, sitting awkwardly with Aang and avoiding eye contact with Mai at all costs. It is not until the Fire Lady and Avatar leave that they manage to relax in the decorative dining hall.

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	13. Reconnaissance

A/N: Huge gap between updates, I know, I know. I'm really sorry about that, but life just got hectic for me. I hope this chapter makes up for it, and the whole story is finally getting to the ending point that I wanted it to reach. Hooray, plot!

Read and review.

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**Reconnaissance**

In the hallways, Sokka and Suki crouched behind a potted fern. Their conspicuous positions were made only more conspicuous by the threesome of armored soldiers that followed their every move, but the couple ignored them as they always did. Sokka and Suki were more than capable of being each other's bodyguards, no matter how many times Zuko insisted otherwise.

"It's too early for spying," Sokka said in hushed tones. He glanced back at the guards, daring them to eavesdrop, and the men suddenly found interesting specks of dirt on the walls and ceiling.

Suki said, "It's almost lunch time."

"Too early," he repeated, shaking his head. "Aang won't be back for another hour, he's been adding that stuff to Iroh's library and then he debriefs in the Council room. Zuko's in the public sitting chambers, under the eastern guard, and he's not coming back until nightfall."

Suki turned her head quizzically, "How'd you get their schedules?"

"I did a lot of things I'm not proud of."

She frowned, "Sokka, that is not an acceptable answer."

Sokka hung his head. "Do you remember the old lady from the basement offices? The one that smells like asparagus?" Suki nodded and Sokka closed his eyes. "I gave her a back rub."

"Oh, honey," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"It was terrible. Just… terrible."

"But for the greater good," Suki smiled, hiding her upturned lips from her husband. "Maybe tonight we'll push everything together, right? We'll fix it all up."

"Yeah, or Zuko's gonna punch me in the face."

She grabbed his forearm, rising up in the hallway and waving her guards away as best as she could. "Just go away for a little while," Suki said. "Go have a long lunch or something, you're on my orders." The men shuffled away, half-confused and half-pleased with the turn of events.

Once they had left, Suki slid her own calloused fingers between Sokka's rough ones. He smiled down at her, fondly pecking her on the still-bruised lips and saying, "Thank you for coming with me."

She kissed him back very softly and whispered, "I'm only going so Zuko doesn't kick your ass." He chuckled as she mindlessly retied the belt around his waist, making sure to have the knot exactly where he liked it.

"Where would I be without you?" he asked. And without a moment's hesitation, Suki replied, "The Boiling Rock."

She giggled at his furrowed brow, "Maybe you can let Zuko beat you up so we can have matching injuries. Katara put a pretty good hurting on me, but a Firebender would really work you over, dear."

"Roasted alive," he said.

"Roasted dead," she corrected.

"Just roasted in general."

They both nodded, and continued walking toward the public sitting chambers. The oval room was decorated in rich shades of red- _just like everything else in the Fire Nation_, thought Sokka- and one wall was completely open to a wide line of people, mostly peasants, waiting to bring forth a dispute to the Fire Lord. These public hearings were something Zuko contended that he establish, and Iroh supported his decision to be more in tune with his people. Sometimes citizens would come yell their issues at him, or congratulate him for his latest victory, or weep for a sympathetic ear, or beg forgiveness for the petty theft they'd committed, but Zuko did his best to maintain the air of justice and detachment that rulers strive to find. He did not always achieve his goal.

Today was a day that sported many angry villagers, and no agreeable resolution for either side, so Zuko's entire face had turned the bloody tint of red that was normally reserved for his scar.

Suki immediately regretted Sokka's plan to confront him at lunch.

Sokka immediately regretted bringing his wife to watch his impending ass kicking.

The two farmers argued at the top of their lungs, bellowing past each other and into Zuko's ears, "You don't even know what it's like to work in the fields all day! He stole-"

"It's not your crop! It's on my side of the fence-"

"There's not a fence, you moron! You go around uprooting my-"

Zuko screamed, "Enough!" and the men stood at full attention. "The next time I hear such a menial boundary dispute, I will march to your homes and claim the land as public property. You," he pointed, "Establish a better fence line. And you," he pointed to the other man, "Never go near this new fence again. If you bring this issue back to me, I will be irate. Do you understand?"

The men said in unison, "Yes, Fire Lord Zuko." They darted away, moving quickly to avoid any latent wrath from their frustrated king.

He slumped back in his throne, long hair falling over his drooping shoulders, and waved for the guard nearest to him. Zuko said, "I've had enough. Bar the doors and tell them to come back tomorrow."

Seeing an opportunity to speak, Sokka stepped forward and passed the guard. The soldier made to grab the Water Tribe man, but thought better of it when he noticed Suki's glare. He cleared the room immediately.

"Zuko," said Sokka. "Can we talk?"

The Fire Lord's eyes flickered from Sokka to Suki, body growing tense under their dual attention. "Yes," he said lowly. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really-"

"Yes," Suki interrupted. Three long strides brought her before the throne. "We aren't sure how you're doing, Zuko. You always look unhappy, everything is a burden, you never smile anymore. I understand that you're not the perkiest person in the world, but even you aren't this dismal. What can we do to help? What do you need?"

He whispered, "There's nothing wrong."

Sokka stood before the seated king, eyes boring straight into him. "Cut it out," he said. "Just cut it out, Zuko. You're not fooling us, and we're not here to listen to your lies."

Suki's heart raced, suddenly fearing the ferocious amber glare of Zuko as it watched her husband. Sokka continued, "You're not happy. Nobody's happy. It's not a secret, man, so stop trying to make it one."

Zuko sneered, "What do you know about secrets?"

"I don't know much, but Katara does. Toph does. Mai and Ty Lee know-"

A bright orange light erupted in the room, momentarily blinding Suki. She heard Zuko scream, "Shut up!" and recovered enough to see that he held the collar of Sokka's shirt in a deathly tight grip. Embers were scattered beneath them, but Sokka did not flinch. He did not even look afraid.

Through the silence, Zuko breathed heavily. Sokka said after a moment's pause, "Aang knows about secrets."

The vice-like fists began to shake, and Zuko's face contorted into too many emotions to be identified. Something like rage or confusion or elation crossed his features before he released Sokka and turned away from them with a choking cough. The red robes on his body made him look very small.

"You sound like Toph," said the Fire Lord.

Sokka grinned, "Smart girl, that Toph." He motioned to Suki and they approached Zuko. He placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "We're your friends, Zuko. We're still your friends, no matter what happens and no matter what people say."

He felt the shudder of Zuko's breath before he responded.

"The people… so much will be said. The damage that could be done… they'll hate-" his words abruptly stopped, voice catching in his throat.

Suki moved closer, wrapping Zuko in a sideways hug. Sokka soon followed, embracing the two of them. She said, "It doesn't matter what they say. We're here, and I'll kill them if you want me to."

Zuko chuckled lightly. "That's not the best way to solve problems."

"It's her favorite though," said Sokka.

Pulling himself away from them, Zuko closed his eyes softly. "Thank you both," he said. When his golden eyes opened again, his face seemed less drawn and his posture less rigid. He glanced at the door behind him, the one leading to the villagers from the complaining public outside.

His mouth twitched slightly as he told Sokka, "Tell the guards to send someone in. I think I can bear the sitting chamber for another hour or two."

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	14. Pacifist

A/N: Once again, the updates on this story were crazier than Gary Busey. I apologize again! But hey, plot resolution is on the way! Read and review, and thanks for sticking with me.

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**Pacifist **

It is so strange that he still finds her body lovely. The pale skin on a slender frame and dark hair over wine-colored lips may always attract the Zuko to his wife, and Mai is noble and holds herself justly before the public eye, leaving no one to wonder about the relationship of the Fire Lord and Lady.

But it is the way that she no longer clings to him, or the way he no longer kisses her goodnight, it is the mutual drifting apart that neither care to stop that pains him. Zuko finds it harder to smile at her lilting voice, and she no longer works so hard to please him. He lets her slip away just as easily as crumbling leaves because fighting for love is not something he wants to do for her. He has been fighting too hard to ignore it for someone else.

Her nightgown is thin like the wavering line that still unites them as she combs out her hair in the starlight. Mai says, "How are you, Zuko?"

Her words shock him from his wandering thoughts. "I'm afraid I'm always preoccupied." She sets down her shell comb and watches his tired face.

"Perhaps you should go visit Aang. He always calms you down," she rasps. He expects that there should be some hint of malice in her voice, but he detects none.

Zuko sighs, "It's late. He's probably asleep already."

"We both know that you wouldn't bother him," she solemnly affirms. "He loves you."

The Fire Lord stops, lowering his head as he turns his scarred face to look at his wife. Her words confuse him; he does not know what kind of love she believes he is capable of displaying to Aang. She maintains the sincere, unfamiliar look, staring with candor back at him.

Mai speaks in her political tone, mannerisms all sharp and businesslike, "I have always loved you, Zuko, but I'm afraid of what we've become. I don't want to be trapped, but that's how I feel with this- this _us._ Am I alone in this sentiment?" Her words are whispered, but firm. There is a loaded silence between them as the breeze blows the red curtains in the window.

"Mai, don't talk to me like I'm a Senator. I'm your husband," he says. Zuko thinks that if she confirms it, it must be true enough for both of them to believe.

Her hands clasp together as if she's trying desperately to hold on to a little reflection between her fingers. "I don't know how else to ask you," she apologizes. He notices the shadows beneath her eyes, and the tiny wrinkle that forms under stress at the corner of her mouth, adding years to her appearance.

Zuko has never seen her looking so uncomfortable, so out of her element. She opens her mouth, then closes it and lightly shakes her head. When she finally speaks, her eyes bore a hole into the ground, "I don't think I love you like I used to."

Her words are weakly spoken, and she glances up to gauge his reaction. It is fairly obvious that she does not want to cause him pain when she wraps her arms together in guilty hug, supporting herself with the last of her inner strength.

She is being so sweet to him, looking something like another girl form his past that he cannot identify, and Zuko feels that he owes her an honest answer. He kneels down at her bare feet and takes her hand, "I love you as any man can love a woman, but I'm afraid that it may not be enough. There are things- people that I can't stop thinking about, and I'm afraid it will consume me, Mai. I'm afraid it might kill me to keep fighting it."

She presses their hands together and smiles in her thin way. After several deep breaths she says, "Let's give up together then. Let's stop fighting and pretend that we can have what we really want." Her eyes are suddenly dripping with tears, and Zuko pulls back when she gasps, "I was unfaithful to you."

In a moment his heart is torn apart, both reassured and upset by her confession. Of course he had heard rumors, and he had been able to guess with whom Mai spent all her time without needing Sokka and Suki to guide him to the conclusion. It stings though, to hear it from his wife. It stings his Fire Nation pride to know that he was not enough to keep her. His quiet, somewhat scratchy voice asks her, "Have you found someone that makes you happy?"

"Yes." Is her strangled reply. She bites down hard on her lips, hazardously close to breaking the skin, as she asks, "Do you hate me?"

"Oh," he shakes his head. "Not ever, Mai."

Something about the way his life is falling apart brings him new hope. He can begin anew, just as he disobeyed his malicious father all those years ago. Zuko kisses her once on the forehead, knowing it may be the last time he does so, to absolve her with the act. She closes her eyes slowly and heaves a sigh that breaks his heart. Mai the stone-faced assassin, the biting Parliamentarian without a soul, leans into his kiss as if his lips could push her sin behind her.

"May we tell Uncle tomorrow? I'll need to know how to go about informing the public of our separation."

"Zuko," she grabs his hand. "I never meant to slander your name. Please, blame me for what's happened. Let them defame me for what I've done. I'll quit the courts if you want me to."

He smiles, "Always so black and white with you, Mai. No, this can be handled civilly. We're not the first royal pair to split, and at least there were no murders involved with us."

She sniffles out a small laugh before she looks up at him for a long moment.

"Go tell Aang," she whispers.

At first, Zuko makes no reply. He scowls deeply, questioningly, and folds his arms. Mai points to the exit. "You and I both know you need to tell him," she says. This time her face leaves no room for argument.

Obeying, he closes the door of their royal suite with a click and glides down the hallway. A stifled sob comes from the room he left behind, but he knows that Mai does not need his presence right now. She needs the person that slips in through the door that Zuko just closed; he catches a long brown braid round the corner just before the lock ticks shut again. And he understands that she has always needed someone with a happier outlook than Zuko could provide. He knows from where her sweetness stems.

The Avatar's room lies in the east wing of the palace, an area that Zuko had become familiar with over the last few years. It is a hallway full of open windows and murals on the walls, perhaps the most attractive part of the royal grounds. It is even near a courtyard that had been converted to a stable for Appa's home. Zuko picked Aang's room himself in the hopes that his friend would feel comfortable.

The night air brings him a great deal of peace.

He pulls his red robes from his shoulders, striding bare-chested in the halls, hoping that none of his guards catch him standing next to the Avatar's room in nothing but his night clothes. His long hair tickles his neck when he brings up his hand to knock, but before he can rap on the wood, he is suddenly staring at a blue arrow above gray eyes.

"Zuko, is everything all right?"

Zuko smiles fully for the first time in months, and it feels like he hasn't used his face muscles in ages. "Everything's fine."

Aang does not return his smile, it seems that he cannot twist his lips into a grin. After a moment of silence he suddenly says, "I think my life is going to hell, Zuko." His fingers roughly rub the back of his neck and he looks up at the Fire Lord with a grieving expression, "Katara doesn't want to marry me."

"Aang, she's-"

"I don't want to marry her either."

Zuko freezes, not knowing where to begin. Even now, after years of council and advice from the wisest men on the planet, Zuko cannot say the simple words that would fill the whole in the boy's heart. And standing together in the dark, he admits to himself that he loves Aang with all the passion he never knew he contained.

"We aren't in-- we aren't together anymore," the Airbender whispers, obviously trying to overcome the lump in his throat. The tortured words leave the Fire Lord wanting to destroy everything that has ever caused Aang pain. He would burn down his palace for the young man before him.

Zuko decides to lose his war.

He grabs Aang's face, presses them together like he has no fear, and feels the completion of all his missing pieces. His hands slide down the arrows of his shoulders, warming the skin like a flame. After several long moments Zuko pauses for breath, and realizes how hard he is gripping Aang's arms. Gray eyes are open wide in shock, and Zuko isn't sure of what he should say next.

Aang solves this problem. "W-will you come in for a while?" He is blushing and suddenly looking much younger, like the child that once asked to be Zuko's friend.

"Of course," says the scarred ruler. He smiles again, wearing out his tired muscles, and follows him into the room. Zuko thinks he will have to train his face to become more used to this position.

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	15. Assassination

A/N: I lied about the plot resolution.

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**Assassination**

When Ozai was overthrown by the boy-Avatar and Zhao the Conqueror long sunk in the Northern Seas, most military units of the Yu Yan archers shifted loyalty to the new Fire Lord. They had always known their place in their country as protectors and scouts, and returning to their old profession after being pressed beneath the thumb of a tyrant was a blessing.

Others were not so pleased with Ozai's banished son. They complained, they rioted, they threatened the Fire Nation Palace with a rain of arrows, and they were promptly silenced. The men and women that call themselves Loyalists were loyal only to their old ways of life, loyal to the violence they could wreak, and the money they could make without fear of responsibility.

A few skirmishes and failed revolts made them reevaluate their ability to wage war with the new government, and it wasn't until they discovered little pockets of dissent in the Senate that they realized they would need an inside man to accomplish their job. They found politicians, soldiers, scribes, and weapon makers. They found housewives, prostitutes, and the angry youth that had been displaced by immigrants from the Earth Kingdom. Bit by bit, the Loyalists amassed an army of frustrated mutineers and traitors to fight the last Airbender and his peasant puppets.

Now, after their punishment, the Loyalists are not allowed the strict, customary uniform of the Yu Yan Archers. They wear no headbands or topknots, and no red face paint to hide their features. Their old bows have been given as training weapons for the newer generations like toy swords in the hands of children.

Now, they carry homemade crossbows. They are fast, light, silent as their predecessors, and far easier to conceal.

* * *

The Fire Lady stands gracefully at Zuko's left side, long back rigid and painted nails demurely held before her. Zuko insisted that his closest advisors and ambassadors wear their finest robes, the ones usually reserved for celebrations, and shed their war armor for the early morning public address.

He wants it to be a cause for celebration that his father was defeated exactly six years ago. Zuko wants to usher in a time of recovery and hope for his country. His own black and red sleeves blow like the palace flags, gusting regally, and if looks alone could determine success, Zuko would be the clear forerunner.

At Zuko's right arm, Aang wears his brown beads and off-the-shoulder yellow and orange monk garb. The jeweled outer part glitters lightly, and the inside is intricately patterned after clouds with blue trim that compliments his bright tattoos. Aang waves lightly to the crowd, and they happily return the gesture to him.

Zuko stands at the podium, backed by his new lover (the word is still a huge cause of confusion and it makes him feel dirty to call Aang his pseudo-mistress.) His friends are scattered around the courtyard mingling and chatting with their adoring fans and acquaintances. Uncle sits on his heavy chair, grinning beneath his beard at the young women that still swoon for the Dragon of the West.

The young Fire Lord cannot visualize how twisted the relationships of his palace are, but he imagines that a cord tied from heart to heart would be frayed, knotted, and wrapped around every person he cares about. For a moment, his mind turns to his little sister, locked in her cell, and he feels an ache of pity that she could never know what it means to be a ruler. Even as an unloved son, Zuko knows that true royalty, the kind both adored and respected, is not something that can be achieved through mindless war.

Part of him wants to smile that what was once a tragic occasion for his family has lead him to a new one. Zuko takes a deep breath and begins his speech.

* * *

Even though Aang's most subtle gestures are obvious, he does a solid job of resisting the urge to beam like a fool when Zuko addresses his people. His normally cheerful demeanor is the perfect excuse for high spirits, and it has been well established that the anniversary of the fall of the Phoenix King has brought a certain giddiness to the world, so Aang feels that he can blame the atmosphere of the situation for the laughter that wells inside of him.

(He tries not to remember how petrified he was six years ago. He tries not to remember the all-consuming, overwhelming feeling that he was losing to Ozai the monster. Aang swallows hard and pretends he didn't use to cry at night wondering how he would have coped if he had killed Ozai instead of removing his bending.)

It stings only a moment that Katara stands beside him without her betrothal necklace, but he puts a friendly arm around her shoulders when she averts her icy eyes. She smiles on impulse, but the tension does not leave her face.

She has something to tell him, and Aang whispers that they will talk later.

He does not lean in to kiss her, and Katara notices with a slight part of her lips. He sees her glance slide from his face to Zuko's to Mai's before he looks back to the crowd.

The people seem a bit restless for being so close to dawn, but many spent a long night at the local bars, toasting their king and country. Aang guesses that the number of red cheeks and swaying bodies is a good indicator that many are still drunk. He chuckles.

He hears Zuko's raspy voice carrying over the people below them, being relayed by callers down the rows of the standing audience. Aang isn't listening to the speech. He already knows what it said because he helped Zuko write it the night before.

From the middle of the crowd, a loud twang sounds and a grunt of shoved bodies follows.

Zuko falls silent, and Aang feels Katara's weight harshly push him a step to the side. If it hadn't been for his natural grace, he would've fallen. Aang gives a small frown and asks, "What was that about?"

As an answer, Katara slumps from beneath his arm with an arrow in her chest.

* * *

The courtyard explodes into motion.

Sokka screams his sister's name, and reaches out as if he can grab her from fifty body-lengths away. He drives forward, aware that Zuko supports Katara's head and Aang shakily wraps his hand against the shaft of the arrow as if he is afraid to pull it out.

Sokka feels himself crying (_so sudden_) as he brutally shoves the terrified citizens past him. He knows Suki is right behind him wearing her formal robes and decorative fans. He punches a man in the nose as he drives a straight path to his shuddering sister.

After what feels like an eternity, Sokka reaches the long platform. Katara's blue robes are soaked in splotchy reddish-brown. Her eyelids flutter when Sokka skids to his knees by her side. He cries, "Heal her!"

Suki's hands are on his back like Aang's are on Katara's chest, and the Avatar yanks the arrow from her sternum with a slick _pop_. Zuko presses her against him harder, trying to keep her from moving when her body thrashes in pain.

Guards scream and fight, and the mob below them choruses cries of drunken fear. Over the noise, Sokka is not even aware that Suki is no longer behind him.

* * *

Mai points into the crowd, teeth barred and hair whipping against her face, to send the guards after the lone assassin. People are being trampled as fights break out along the edges of the frenzy, and Mai raises her monotone voice to a shriek as she calls for her bodyguards to summon more troops and as many Water Tribe healers as they can find.

She glances back to her favorite Waterbender, but it is impossible to see Katara beneath the wall of bodies around her. She needs backup, she needs healers, she needs her soldiers.

"General Tiko!" she shouts. A large, armored man turns in his tracks.

Their glances meet, and Mai sees an unfamiliar pair of eyes underneath his helmet. She has only one instant to spot the thin dagger in his hand before she hits the ground.

* * *

In a flash, Suki throws the Fire Lady to the wooden platform and wrestles with the man in uniform. She snaps the dagger away from his grip with a sharp flick of her wrists and shoves it deep into his throat without a moment's hesitation. (She had seen the shiny, cowardly weapon tucked in his sleeve long before anyone could guess his allegiance. Suki is too well trained to allow her Fire Lady friend to die.)

Tossing the dagger to Mai, Suki yells, "They're all assassins!"

_That's not true_, Mai wants to shout back. _I can see my real guards fighting down there._

She doesn't say anything, but nods ferociously and deftly spins the knife between her fingers. A burst of rock and flame tears fearlessly through the cobblestones and people below them.

It's impossible to tell if it's Zuko and Toph, or two other powerful benders decimating the riotous crowd.

Suki frees her ceremonial fans and wishes she had worn her armor like she wanted to this morning. The screams surrounding her put fear in her warrior's heart, and a volley of arrows fly past her head. People drop around her like flies, both citizens and Loyalists, and Suki can hardly distinguish who is good and who is evil. As she searches for a target, her slipper catches in a crack in the wood.

Suki trips, and suddenly a nameless, faceless grunt has pushed a blade through her unprotected stomach.

* * *

Her eyes never leave Mai's body, not for an instant, and Ty Lee silently blesses Suki for making it to her side before the assassin could. She slams her tiny fist into a woman's temple, dropping her body like a bag of bricks.

Ty Lee vaults over a pair of grappling men, ripping most of her tight robes as she kicks the face of the Loyalist mid-air.

When she lands and continues running, Ty Lee sees that Suki is curled on the ground, clutching her stomach with wide-eyes. Neither of them have enough breath to sob.

Her swift legs pump faster (_everyone is bleeding and screaming and angry and I hate it,_ she thinks) until Mai's long fingers open to franticly pull her up the platform, up to the bleeding Suki. They reach her side, gasping for air and covered in flecks of sweat and blood.

They cradle her between them, perfectly mimicking the Zuko-Katara-Aang trio now surrounded by blue-clad healers. None of them have noticed the fallen Kyoshi Warrior, not even Sokka.

Ty Lee strokes the face of her friend, watching as Suki's fading eyes dart from side to side. "Mai," says Ty Lee gravely. "Clear the way."

She hoists Suki limply onto her back, and begins another mad dash across the long platform, ducking as a blade swipes over their heads. Mai's thin dagger makes short work of the other Loyalists, and the Fire Lady spins like a bloody whirlwind.

When they reach their friends, the look on Sokka's face is enough to make Ty Lee wish she had never been born.

* * *

Panic surges through Toph's ears.

"Katara!" she hears Sokka. "Heal her!" commands his desperate voice.

"They're all assassins!" she hears a woman call. She thinks it's Suki, but she's too far away to pinpoint the voice.

The ground rumbles with violent movement and her ability to see is suddenly shaken into nothingness. Toph grabs hold of someone next to her (she thought it was an advisor of the palace, _where is everyone?_) but he roughly pulls away his skinny arm. The chaos swarms inside of her delicate ears and feet, making it almost impossible to walk straight.

Something hard knocks out the back of her knees, and she hits the cobblestone ground face-first. She rolls on her back, arms sharply raised, cocooning herself with walls of rock. Toph's coffin is silent, but she feels vibrations traveling through her barrier.

After a shallow breath, she erupts from the ground in a frenzy, screaming a battle-cry. People fly backwards, fearful of the Earthbender. She has less than a second to see an attack before it strikes her, the vibrations traveling barely fast enough to give her a picture of her surroundings.

An old voice calmly says, "Toph, it's time to move."

(The woman called Toph takes pride in never crying, but Iroh's firm voice makes her want to curl up in his lap and beg him for help.)

Iroh grabs her shoulders and twists her around.

"Stand at my back, I'll push you forward and cover. Now go!"

They flow through the crowd like a volcano, snake-fire twisting around Iroh's wrinkled hands. He burns through their enemies as Toph barricades a group of Loyalists to the ground, covering them in immovable stone. As she pins people the ground, her vision begins to clear.

They approach Zuko's podium, climbing steps and throwing rioters from them. The instant Toph steps foot on the platform, she chokes and lunges forward.

Iroh grabs her around the waist, "Don't! The healers need room!"

Toph beats against his arms, voice cracking as she cries out for Katara. Aang holds his hands over her wound, still healing hopelessly with others, but Sokka and Zuko have moved to another set of people.

Toph can't see them (_can't see anything, can't think, can't feel, Katara, Katara, Katara_) but Mai is hoarsely shouting orders for more healers and Ty Lee is trying to explain what happened through her tears. Sokka clutches at the unconscious Suki and looks back at Katara, and watches as his soul is ripped in half.

Iroh holds her more tightly when Katara's mouth wells with blood and Aang whispers, "No!"

A piece of Toph dies when she feels the fragile heartbeat stop.

XXXXX


	16. Operation

A/N: Angst alert, oh snap. Read and review, please.

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**Operation**

The heavy thuds of Aang's fists pound against Katara's chest with a hopeless rhythm. The death march continues over the sound of Toph's wordless screams and the clanging swords beneath the royal platform.

Ty Lee supports Suki's lolling head (she reminds herself that at least one of her dying friends must live because they simply _must_) and tries to untie the thick belt from her waist without disturbing her wound, but Sokka's shaking, roving hands make it almost impossible to avoid the bloody gash in her abdomen.

(Aang is _pound pound pounding_ on Katara's still body. It looks like he beat her to death.)

Mai's needle-nails grab the nearest Water Tribe healer, a frazzled young woman uncontrollably sobbing at the scene before her. Katara is her hero, and watching her die is the most terrifying nightmare her people could conceive. Mai doesn't care that she's afraid; she has more pressing matters to attend. Her furious arms pull the woman upright and she spits, "Heal her _now_." She rips her from Katara and shoves her to Suki.

The healer drops beside Sokka, suddenly aware that the life of Kyoshi's Pride lies beneath her fingertips. Ty Lee can see the panicked hesitation on her face. Surely this young woman remembers the merciless ways of the Fire Nation, she knows that it runs in their veins, and she knows that failure means seeking clemency from the Fire Lady. The healer gulps before laying her fingers to the bloody hole.

"No, no, no. Oh, spirits," Sokka moans. His hands wander across Suki's hair and neck, as if the contact can wake her, but her eyes do not open.

The healer pours water from her pouch into the palms of her hands and they glow in a familiar way. Ty Lee has seen Katara use the same method countless times to repair injuries after little accidents and sparring matches.

_Katara is dead_, she thinks, brown eyes barely able to bear the sight of her pale, prone friend.

Mai links their quivering hands together without thinking.

* * *

Two things happen simultaneously.

Toph rips herself from Iroh's iron embrace, dust-covered face streaked with tears, launching herself through the healers to Katara. She takes her into her arms, away from Aang and Zuko, rocking back and forth (it's comforting the way Katara sits in her lap like a sleeping child) and calling her name. Sorrow pools around her, voice trancelike in its repetition. All she hears now is the resounding silence where Katara's heart used to pump. She can hear the lack of a soul.

At the same time, the blood-stained Avatar sees his fiancée and his closest friend tangled together in a morbid parody of a hug. He hears Toph, weak and broken, whimpering in a way he could have never imagined. The woman called the Blind Bandit is crumpled in a heap with her dead lover. (It clicks, and it's so obvious it hurts.)

Somewhere in the corner of his vision, Aang sees Zuko being hoisted away by his guards. He pushes back against them, golden eyes desperately locking with Aang's to ask for help. He reaches out his hand, two fingers pointed elegantly to the Water Tribe healers, Toph, Katara, and Aang.

A memory bursts through the Avatar's mind.

(Pain. Azula's long fingernails pointed at his chest, shock searing through his body. The jolting stop of his heartbeat.)

His eyes and tattoo glow blue, and he crashes into the Spirit World.

"Roku!" he screams, voice harsh in the quiet brown forest. "Roku, please! Help me!" He staggers in every direction, desperate for a sign of life in the dead world. "Please, master!" he calls. (The word sounds foreign on his tongue; Aang never addresses his previous lives as such.)

From the mist at his feet, thousands of people effortlessly rise. The past Avatars' spiritual presence is impressive, even to their youngest reincarnation, and Aang barely controls his shuddering before their army. Looking stoic, Roku steps forward gracefully.

Aang kneels humbly at his feet, arrow marks pointing to Roku's red shoes.

"Please, Roku, I need to hurry. She's dying! Katara is dying. I don't have much time, what should I do?"

Aang's eyes are closed shut, damming the welled tears. For a moment, he believes he has done something to fall from their good graces. Their silence chills him, and he wonders if he misunderstood their orders to find his own happiness.

(In the depth of his heart, Aang has stopped caring about judgment. He doesn't need permission to be with Zuko. He will go to war with anyone—his friends, his past lives, his teachers, himself—for the right to kiss him again.)

A female voice, Yanchen perhaps, says, "Calm yourself. Time does not flow in equivalent currents between the Spirit World and yours." Aang slowly lifts his grey eyes. The faces that stare back at him are tranquil but concerned, and it quells his anxiety over the situation. Roku gently places his wrinkled hand on Aang's head.

"We have seen what you have seen, Aang, and we know what you now know," he says. "You can save her still, but you must be quick when you return. You will need the help of another. A Firebending master."

"Roku, I don't understand what I need to do," Aang says, muscles tense with apprehension.

He crouches down to his kneeling protégé. His long, white beard sweeps the ground as he taps Aang once on the forehead. "Firebending is life and death, and lightning dances on the border."

(Pointed fingers, precise execution, endless practicing of the lightning form.)

"Zuko," Aang breathes out.

The faintest hint of a smile plays across Roku's features. He lays a hand on the youngest Avatar's shoulder, whispering, "For Zuko to revive her body, you must rescue her soul. She rests in the Spirit World, waiting to move on."

And Aang, in the graceful way of an Airbender, leaps back into the living world without another word.

* * *

By the time they realize what is happening, Zuko's persistent guards are unconscious. An arched kick lands the final one facedown on a pile of his buddies, thumping unceremoniously to the ground.

The Fire Lord rushes forward to Aang, crying, "Uncle, help!" Iroh complies immediately, half reaching for the glowing Avatar, half trying to pull Toph away from Katara's body. Zuko's hands stroke the sides of Aang's face, checking for warmth or a pulse, or any indication that he is well in the Spirit World.

Suddenly, the light of Aang's tattoos fade. His eyes sharply open, hands grabbing at Zuko's robes. Before anyone else moves, he clutches Zuko's hands, pointing them to Katara's chest.

"Lightning, Zuko! Use it to start her heart!" He motions wildly to the shocked faces of the Water Tribe men, "They can heal her once you've gotten a heartbeat. Please, Zuko, trust me. Roku said that lightning can start a heart they same way it can stop one."

Zuko dumbly nods, fingers still wrapped in Aang's hands. (He would've enjoyed it so much more if he hadn't been directed to shoot lightning through the heart of one of his closest companions, but he doesn't hesitate to obey. Zuko trusts Aang.) He rasps, "Move back."

The atmosphere of the platform crackles with static, something that Zuko is creating immediately and unconsciously following Aang's order. Iroh feels the heat pulsing in waves around him, a subtle change that only a master Firebender could detect, much less produce. Sometimes Iroh think Zuko is more powerful than anyone gives him credit for, especially if the hairs standing upright on his arms are any indicator.

Blind eyes meet the Fire Lord's, and Toph whimpers, "Zuko?"

Zuko gently says, "We'll save her, Toph. Let go." He pries Katara from Toph's unsteady arms and she falls back against Iroh, heaving in fear. She wants the contact of another body almost as much as she wants Katara back.

"I'm ready," says Zuko.

The whole world has gone still around them, Aang and Zuko, the Avatar and the Fire Lord, arguably the most important men in the world. (When he looks into Zuko's face, Aang remembers a time when he said, _We could be friends, _and Zuko tried to shoot fire at his head. His reaction was too slow to hit its target, and Aang fled knowing that a Fire Nation prince was bred to be faster than that. He had smiled.)

Aang murmurs to his lover, "Wait for me to wake up, then do it. I'm not coming back without her."

"Aang," Zuko begins, but the Avatar's mournful eyes are already closed.

* * *

Mai's regal gown is wrinkled, torn, dusty, and bloodied beyond repair by countless attackers, but she kneels beside the young Water Tribe healer anyway, applying pressure to Suki's wound when Sokka's hands are not firm enough.

Ty Lee holds the Wolf-Blade close, gently petting his hair and whispering little hushes that calm him even in such a state of turmoil. Sokka's intelligent crystal eyes dart between his prone sister and his wife, and not even Ty Lee's expert comfort can take away the full effects of his madness.

Mai snaps her thoughts back to the healer, brow furrowed in concentration. (Really, truly, Mai is frightened. She has never seen first-hand what her favorite sharp weapons can do to an unprotected stomach. It makes her almost sick enough to want to abandon her knives forever.)

It kills Mai that Suki took a sword to the stomach for her. It makes her bitter that they were ever enemies in the first place, and it makes her ache for Ty Lee's soothing embrace. No one should have to die for the lying Fire Lady. Not someone as good as Suki.

The healer stutters in her nervousness. "When I c-c-count to three, lift up, Fire Lady M-Mai." She flickers her gaze up for an instant before creating an orb of water in her dark-skinned hand.

"One."

Mai registers the sound of Aang speaking. She can't hear what he says, but his voice is more strong and reassuring than it has been in years. She doesn't know why.

"Two."

Ty Lee squeezes Sokka tighter, and Mai sees that they have created another mirror image of the other side of the platform, this time of Iroh and Toph. Mai prays to Agni that Suki doesn't start mimicking their poor, dead Katara.

"Three!" gasps the girl, and Mai lifts up.

A stream of blood spills like an overflowing wine glass just before the healer puts her hands down, but the glow of the water fuses deep into Suki's abdomen, cool and haunting to the eye. The healer bites her lip (_sweet Moon Spirit, bring her back,_ she prays) as she bends the organs and tissues. They stretch and repair, growing ever closer to closing the wound.

Sokka pushes from Ty Lee, scarred hands reaching for his wife. He brushes her fallen brown hair away from her face.

"Wake up, Suki," he mumbles. "Please, wake up." His firm chin quivers with more falling tears.

(Sokka is a strong man, but he is not strong enough to watch women die. He is not hard enough to the world to disallow weeping for his wife and sister. He owes them that.)

The healer leans forward, brow furrowed in concentration as she pulls more water from her flask. She waves her hands subtly, slowly, and the darkness of Suki's insides closes completely. Leaning back on her heels, she looks to Sokka and Mai, imploring them to understand that she has done all that she could do.

Sokka whispers, "Suki, wake up. I love you, I need you." His heavy hands ghost over the site of her wound, warmth spreading through the dried blood across her toned stomach. He kisses her forehead and says, "Please, wake up."

Then Suki, skin as powdery white as Kyoshi face paint, blinks her eyes wearily open.

* * *

Zuko stands like a king should stand, shoulders back, legs planted firmly on the ground. His scarred face shows no traces of fear or trepidation, only an unwavering confidence of a man determined to succeed. The wind gusts, and he glances down to the crowd below him until everyone in the courtyard has settled.

His mind wheels, but he sets his jaw. The ragged people stare up at the Fire Lord until a pang of adoration touches them in a way that Ozai never could. The Loyalist rebels are subdued again, bitter that their seeds of distrust have been uprooted by a single look from Zuko.

The real guards herd the rebels away like trained dogs. When one breaks for escape, a Firebender punches a flaming rope into his face, and the Loyalist drops into a blackened heap. The others do not try to run.

Zuko stares.

He stares at the men who don't know what it's like to live under a wise ruler. They believe an unwavering faith in Ozai would restore them to their former glory. He thinks, perhaps, that some of them do not realize how much their former king has wasted away in his cell. They would be ashamed to see such a skeleton in royal robes.

Amber eyes shoot to Aang.

_I'm not coming back without her,_ replays in his mind. Zuko fears the truth in his statement. He fears never seeing the last Airbender's smiling face again. He wants to hold him until all this pain and confusion disappears.

But when he sees Toph clinging to his uncle, and Sokka's bloodshot eyes, Zuko knows it was a necessary promise.

The air crackles again with electricity.

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	17. Incoming

A/N: Apologies forever, forever apologies. It has taken me almost four months to write this. Read and review if I'm forgiven.

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**Incoming**

Ethereal whispers breathe against Aang's ears, eerily ghosting the smooth skin of his cheek. The smoke of the Spirit World drifts at his feet as he glides across the pale landscape, eyes darting in every direction for a sign of Katara.

He can sense in the core of his chi that her soul is still present (it looms heavily against his heart.) Aang feels her like the first drop of rain before a storm, falling from his flesh like a tear.

He quickens his pace, praying to the nearby spirits that he isn't too late to redeem her. For years he's passed through the Spirit World as the only mortal capable of remaining. He has seen the figures of the dead, all ghastly and glorious, passing into a world he cannot follow.

Humans, no matter how powerful, are not immortal. They are not the Avatar with his endless combination of souls, and even the holiest person cannot maintain his or her being without passing from the Spirit World. Physically, their bodies are dead. Aang can only pray that Katara's mind and soul are still intact.

Suddenly, a blue light interrupts the dull orange landscape.

Aang's footsteps falter, feeling at once the intangible pull of something powerful. His eyes widen at the sight before him; the Painted Lady stands with her arms at her sides, white and red robes rippling from some unfelt wind. Her lips part slightly into a questioning look.

"She resides elsewhere, Avatar," she says. Her voice is smooth like slippery ice. "A child of water will always return home."

The Painted Lady stares down, stately and tall. Aang isn't sure if her height has always been so imposing or if it's some trick of the Spirit World, and the tangerine hue of their surroundings does not affect her pristine form.

"She's near?"

The Painted Lady dips her head, fabric of her hat falling in sheets.

"Can I still save her?" he asks meekly.

She turns slightly, eyes drifting through the brown leaves. "I would not appear if she could not be saved, Avatar." Her hand rises in the direction of her eyes. "Run," she says.

Quickly shouting his thanks, Aang adjusts the direction of his travels with a fleet-footed sprint. He doesn't look back to see whether the mystical spirit is following. He knows the Painted Lady does not linger long in any world. As Aang sees the shimmer of a waterfall through the trees, he doubles his pace.

* * *

When the crowd beneath the platform begins to reconvene, Mai pulls her nervous eyes away from Katara. She looks away from Zuko's tense, coiled form, but the crackle of the coming lightning still tingles at her scalp. Shoes padding on the wood, Mai quickly marches to the front of the podium, arm still clutched in Ty Lee's hands.

The acrobat refuses to let go (_thank Agni,_ thinks Mai), and she is more grateful for her comfort than she cares to admit. They breathe heavily, half in fear and half in exertion. Though a lifetime has passed since the twang of the Loyalist's bowstring resounded through the courtyard, only a few minutes have gone by during the mad dash-battle that had occurred. Ty Lee's pink robes are still spotted with blood. Mai wonders at her own derelict appearance, but brusquely pushes such pettiness away.

"Soldiers," she commands, voice showing no sign of her collapsing strength, "Take the Loyalist archers to the stockyards. We shall let them feel the full repercussions of their actions once they have spent a few days facing the judgment of Fire Nation citizens firsthand. They shall be sentenced at a later date."

Mai wheels about. She points her long fingers at an unconscious (_hopefully dead_) Loyalist dressed as a guard. "For the crime of treason, all those impersonating Fire Nation soldiers shall be stripped naked and imprisoned in the dungeons outside of the Oyster District. They shall be sentenced at a later date."

Two large men, one soldier and one burly Firebending citizen, drag a slumped form between them. Beside the Fire Lady, Ty Lee gasps. Her grip tightens.

"It's the man who shot her," she whispers. She doesn't need to clarify.

(Mai's eyes narrow, malicious and calculating. She knows herself well enough to know that this man will be dead before evening. She knows that she wants his greasy head on a platter.)

"Zuko," she murmurs. The Fire Lord barely turns toward her. "You know my sentence. What would you have me do?" Mai asks.

His muscles tighten beneath his robes, stance still prepared at any moment for Aang's return. The archer held between the guards begins to quiver, lips trembling. He doesn't bother begging for mercy.

"Toph will decide when Katara wakes," Zuko says.

His amber eyes emotionlessly return to the face of the Avatar. From Iroh's arms, Toph has not registered that she is included in the decision. She weeps despondently as her thin fingers twitch against Iroh's forearms. Her blind stare remains fixed on Katara's wound cleanly enough for any arrow to find its mark.

Mai does not notice her own tears until Ty Lee wipes them from her ashen cheek.

* * *

Before his final step into the clearing, Aang pauses. Katara relaxes before him, feet gently rippling the surface of the pond, as the cool, crystalline water reflects in her eyes. She is elegant in this position- in her most comfortable position- and Aang understands how he fell in love with her so many years ago.

He approaches slowly. "Katara? Are you all right?"

Her chocolate hair drips across her shoulder as she sits up. Aang realizes with a searing flash that something is not right with her face, with her expression.

Katara looks like a child, hazy and confused at the puzzle before her. It looks like she is struggling to remember him.

"It's me," he whispers. "It's Aang."

"Aang," she says, rolling the name on her tongue. "Aang, from the South Pole. With Sokka and the iceberg. My friend Aang."

"Yes! Yes, it's me. Do you remember anything after the iceberg? We traveled all over and you taught me Waterbending." The memories swell up a tremendous sadness in Aang's chest. "We went to the North Pole, too. Do you remember? We defeated Fire Lord Ozai with our friends."

She rises, feet bare in the Spirit World, and Aang notices the outer fringes of her form become foggy as she slips away. Her spirit is fading.

"Why do you look so upset, Aang? Did I do something wrong?"

Her concern touches Aang's heart in a way he no longer believed was possible.

The Avatar fears snapping her into the living world too soon. He fears leaving a part of her mind or soul in her grotto. For a moment, he wonders if she would be happier here, free to pass into death at her leisure.

(The thought makes him sick. His head reels. _Can't abandon her, she's my friend, she wouldn't abandon me, Toph would kill me, Zuko would… Zuko, Zuko, Zuko would be able to save her._)

"You- "

It suddenly clicks: she remembers something. Katara's features tighten into a mask of revulsion.

"We're engaged," she gasps. "We were engaged." Her face ages in exhaustion and shame as her memories of Aang return. She tastes the alcohol on his breath when they kiss, and feels the sweat of her body in the lonely Fire Nation nights. She hears the thud of her engagement necklace on the floor.

"Oh, spirits. Oh, I'm so sorry," she moans. "You shouldn't have come back for me. I don't deserve it. Please, please, let me go." Her words rush out like spilled wine. "Please, I can't go back. No one can forgive me. _You_ can't forgive me. I can't, I was so wrong. It was all wrong-"

Aang halts her outburst by pulling her against him, petting her head with his hands. She is cold to the touch, a sure sign that her stay in the Spirit World is taking its toll.

"Hush," he whispers. "It'll be all right. We'll be all right."

"I can't go back, Aang, not after what I did to you," she says. "No one would accept me. No one would look at me again, and I deserve it. Please, please leave me."

Still stroking her hair, Aang whispers, "Toph needs you, Katara. We have to go back."

Katara's back straightens with his words. "Toph," her voice wavers. The bleeding edges of her spirit body come into sharp focus for an instant before vanishing again. (The chill that seeps into Aang's bones concerns him. He has never felt like he was dying in the Spirit World, but Katara is freezing and fading and the feeling is all-consuming.) She hangs her head low.

"Will you follow me back?"

(Her eyes are frostbite blue.)

"Will you come back with me, Katara?"

(He can hardly sense her weakening spirit.)

"For her?" he asks, and Katara looks up.

* * *

Wrapped in Iroh's arms, Toph sits entirely prone. Her face is lax, fingers barely curled to the sky, and only the heels of her dirty feet touch the wooden platform. She does not hear the ragged breaths of the people around her or the feel the vibrations of soldiers wrangling citizens beneath them.

(Toph hears silence.) Her whole being aches with a singular longing, a need that leaves her feeling empty like death, like a shell, like a husk. Normally, she would have been the first to feel Suki's gasp of life. She would have laughed in relief at Ty Lee's little whimper of happiness when she and Mai hugged the Water Tribe healer between them, thanking her for saving Kyoshi's Pride, their dear friend. Normally, Toph would have clutched Sokka's large form against her in elation.

But no one is normal. Toph cannot hear anything, feel anything. She does not know Sokka is still crying, half in happiness and half in sorrow, or that Zuko's raptor gaze is burning a hole into Aang's glowing arrow.

At her side, Iroh sharply inhales.

Then, the world rumbles.

* * *

The moment is inopportune for Zuko to be thinking of Ba Sing Se, but he remembers the trust in Katara's eyes when she offered to heal his scar so many years ago. He remembers the betrayal of his youth. He remembers that Katara saved Aang's life when Zuko left him to die. The lightning roiling in his body swells with fury, shame, regret, pain, and love.

(_Come back, Aang. Bring her back._)

For that, he owes her the world. For that, he loves her like a sister. Electricity swirls in his chest, barely contained by his ribcage.

Uncle is crying silently, holding Toph like the ragdolls that Azula always hated.

Unexpectedly, the back of Zuko's neck tickles. His hair stands on end for a reason he doesn't know and the lighting feels ready to burst from his fingertips in a way it never has before. A tinge of fear breezes through him. It feels like Sun is inside of him, like the Firebending Masters have given him a new flame again. It feels spiritual.

Uncle gasps and the earth growls with an unheard thunder. The people on the platform feel their souls screaming out for the hidden pressure to release, and Zuko can hardly contain the forces inside of him.

Aang's still figure bursts forward, slamming to a halt on his palms and pushing desperately upward. His lips are as blue as his tattoos.

"Zuko, now!" he bellows, and, at the Avatar's command, the two worlds collide.

Then Zuko, in a moment of perfect clarity and stability, unleashes his rending emotion straight into Katara's heart.

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	18. Barrage

A/N: This is short and I have no excuse for making you all wait for so long. Hopefully this is a good final chapter before the epilogue!

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**Barrage**

An avalanche of flowing colors blinds Ty Lee. Her spine tenses as they swirl past her closed eyelids. (She sees without eyes the rich, chocolaty-moss halo surrounding Toph.) Ten thousand emotions swell around the platform, ten thousand auras, ten thousand lifetimes in every different shade. It overwhelms every sense. It shakes the spirits of the Capital City, overflowing to the people of the country. The nation rises to its feet.

Ty Lee quivers incoherently. It feels as if her chi flow has been permanently blocked, full like an overflowing pot of water. The warm dark aura beside her must be Mai (_dark like a clear night sky)_ and the volcanic orange light (_beautiful and deadly and exquisite) _can only be the power unleashed from Zuko; but the characteristic sky blue of Aang's aura has dulled to a ghastly pallor.

Katara's is completely absent.

Ty Lee feels the rumble beneath her feet, but the spiritual plane pulls her higher _(Or lower? Sideways? Nowhere? Everywhere?) _to the thread connecting the souls on the platform. She can hardly concentrate. Her whole world tumbles.

Then a clear shape emerges.

Ten more follow, and ten thousand after that. (She could feel them before she could see them.) And the platform is swollen with the former lives of the Avatar. Ty Lee locks eyes with an Airbender, a woman with a shaved head and long braid like her own. The spirit-Avatar smiles.

Ty Lee drops to her knees. It is too much.

_(Death and life walk hand in hand, calling out to one another. Eternity stands before her.)_ The old Airbender gently smiles again. _(A farewell.) _Her glance slides to Katara along with the eyes of every other spirit invading the living world.

They exhale.

A roar of energy dissipates in the crowd. A crystalline hum fills the void.

Katara inhales.

* * *

Toph is alive again. The Blind Bandit lunges for Katara, arms wrapping her closely in an iron embrace. The hole in her chest is cauterized from Zuko's lightning, but her body shakes in pain. Her heart could stop again. It vibrates like a humming-lizard from the swamps.

"Healer!" she screams. Her milky eyes lock on the prone Waterbending healers. They stand in shock until Mai seethes across the platform, "Get down there and heal her, fools!"

They swarm forward, a mess of blue robes and dark skin, rushing to close the wound. In a matter of seconds the blood is dry and the bones are free of all marks. Katara's mouth is opening and closing as if she had just surfaced from an icy pond. She stops when Toph removes the healers from their looming positions. Her calloused fingertips gently glide across her face, and a ghost of a smile passes Katara's features.

"Toph," she rasps. She tries to sit up, but her spine can barely support the effort. "I wanted to come back." Her eyes well with tears, "Aang brought me back to you."

Toph leans down, damning all who see, and kisses Katara fully on the lips. There is no question of her passion or intention. Katara holds the sides of her face desperately. Neither of them cares to see the faces trained on them.

* * *

Aang weakly drops his head onto Zuko's muscular shoulder. He pants with the spiritual effort he's expended, wondering vaguely if what they've just accomplished has ever been accomplished before. _No, certainly not_, he thinks. _Only Zuko and I could have done what we've done._

The Fire Lord's fingers dig into Aang's robes, half-pulling, half-holding him upright. Zuko's teeth are bared with surprise, and the air around him still tingles. They watch Katara and Toph kiss, unperturbed by idea of the couple for so many reasons.

"Unbelievable," he whispers. "She was dead."

Aang smiles, "Her spirit hadn't completely passed, but we were definitely close." He shivers. "I'm still f-freezing."

Wordlessly, Zuko wraps his arms around the Avatar, covering his bare shoulder with his heavy robes. "We saved her," Zuko almost grins. Aang sighs and kisses his cheek tenderly. They say nothing more, but embrace each other's warmth.

* * *

Suki is not quite sure what's happening on the other side of the platform, perhaps from the blood loss, but her husband is hysterically chattering about bender magic and the Spirit World. He clutches Suki, petting her face and splashing hot tears on her neck, thanking every spirit and god known to the Four Nations.

Ty Lee is wide-eyed and panting, distinctly aware of something the rest of them cannot feel, and Mai rubs the small of her back, suspiciously surveying the Loyalists still pinned to the ground. The Water Tribe healers congratulate each other through their disbelief. Iroh slumps on his padded chair, eyes focused on all of his children in turn.

Suki sits up, dazedly asking, "Why is everyone kissing?"

"Because you were dead and Katara was dead and Aang went away and now we're all fine!" Sokka rambles. He takes her face and kisses her with a smile.

He whispers, "You're back, and Katara's back. We're all fine, honey. For real this time. For good."

Suki furrows her brow. "Oh, is that all it took?" she asks.

Sokka slowly turns his head to Iroh and laughs a laugh that relieves all of his tension. It leaks from his lips slowly at first, as if accidental, until it reaches a joyful crescendo. He laughs, and Iroh thinks, _Finally._

XXXXX


End file.
